The Arab Spring and Bahrain

POMED Notes: “The Arab Spring and Bahrain”
30 October, 2011 – POMED Wire

On Thursday, the Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA) hosted a panel discussion entitled “The Arab Spring and Bahrain,” part of UMAA’s National Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. Speakers included Husain Abdulla, Director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain; lawyer and activist Dr. Abdulhameed Dashti; exiled Bahraini dissident Al-Sayid Qasem Al-Hashemi; and Human Rights Watch’s Washington Director Tom Malinowski. Mowahid Shah moderated the event.

For full event notes, continue reading. Or, click here for the PDF. Abdulla began by noting that while the Bahraini uprising began with simple demands, the government crackdown intensified these desired reforms to calls for regime change. The U.S. administration’s initial reaction urged the Government of Bahrain to not attack peaceful protesters, and the al-Khalifa regime responded by “backing off,” allowing protesters to camp in Pearl Roundabout and announcing a National Dialogue. Then, Abdulla argued, the White House policy changed from one of support for protesters to regime stabilization. The onus for the shift, he added, was the presence of the U.S. naval base in Bahrain. Now, Abdulla said, the U.S. administration has pursued a policy of “strongly taking the side of the Bahraini government.” Furthermore, the coverage of the Bahraini revolution differed from that of its regional neighbors because of the close relationship between the U.S. and Bahrain.

Abdulla asserted that the movement in Congress against the proposed arms sale to Bahrain was sparked by the activism of human rights groups. Support for the joint House and Senate resolutions has been bi-partisan, he added. He also cited the arrival of 29 Bahrainis seeking political asylum in the U.S. over the last two months as testimony that “there is a serious problem” in Bahrain, and that the U.S. administration must “talk to our ally.” He suggested allowing peaceful protests as a “good gesture” from the al-Khalifa government, and concluded by saying that Bahraini oppositionists are facing “mercenaries in Bahrain” as well as “mercenaries in Washington,” referencing the Bahraini government’s contracts with nine lobbying firms. “The movement in Bahrain is indigenous, and its demands are fair,” he said.

Dashti then discussed the “double standard” the Bahraini uprising faces. Opposition members expected the same level of U.S. support that Egypt and Tunisia enjoyed, but have recieved an unbalanced approach that obscures the “legitimate demands of the Bahraini revolution.” He argued that the government of Bahrain has violated international human rights standards, including the conventions against genocide. The regime’s targeting of the Shia community constitutes genocide, he asserted. International organizations have failed to act. This inaction is caused by U.S. interests in the Gulf as well as the power of Saudi Arabia. He also said that the Bahraini government is “importing a new population to change the demography” of the country. The U.S., he said, controls the Gulf and Bahrain; thus, he asked Americans to “put pressure on Congress to help the Bahraini people.” …more