In recent months protests have erupted in Turkey, Bulgaria, and most recently in Brazil. These new protests add to the increasing number of countries that are experiencing poor government-to-citizen relations. As the list grows longer it becomes easy to focus only on the biggest and most recent protests, but in doing this we tend to forget about the smaller, but no less important corners of the globe.
The small island nation of Bahrain has been in the depths of political unrest for years. Protests have been increasing in number and ferocity since the start of the Bahraini Uprising of 2011, sparked by the Arab Spring, but Bahrain’s protests have seen coverage drop off in mainstream media since 2012. Contrary to what this lack of attention implies, the issues that sparked the protests initially have not been resolved in Bahrain.
Not everyone has forgotten however. In Washington, DC, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) continues in the struggle to bring awareness to this grief-stricken country. The Diplomatic Courier contacted Husain Abdulla, founder and Director of ADHRB, and discussed the ongoing turmoil in Bahrain and what can be done about it.
ADHRB fosters awareness of and support for democracy and human rights in Bahrain by engaging with key actors within the U.S. government to advocate for stronger U.S. policies that support human rights for the Bahraini people. While paraphrasing their goals, Abdulla explained, “Our long-term goal is to see accountability and basic human rights extended to all Bahraini citizens.”
Much of the turmoil in Bahrain revolves around the royal family and a government with poor democratic representation. While the ruling family are Sunni Muslims, the majority of the population are Shia. “No minority can rule over a majority forever,” Abdulla explained, “It just doesn’t work.”
Abdulla further explained, “ADHRB is not a political organization; we are purely a human rights group. Our aim is to ensure that everybody in Bahrain be able to express themselves without fear of oppression.”
“The people want their rights to be protected, not quashed, and they’re not asking for a lot.” Abdulla continued, “They want equal representation, they want prisoners of conscience to be released, they want police officers who killed or tortured to be convicted, and they want people who were fired from their jobs to be reinstated.”
While there are a growing number of people who are calling for the overthrow of the regime, the main opposition group does not want that. Abdulla explained, “They want a constitutional monarchy, they are telling the royal family, ‘you can stay, we just want equal representation.’”
When asked what U.S. citizens could do to help bring awareness to Bahrain’s struggle, Abdulla stated, “Stay informed—get the people who actually can cause change, to cause change. The more people who get outraged about this and the more people who actually call members of Congress or sign petitions, there will be more people who will have to start paying attention.”
Bahrain may be just a small island nation, and many Americans believe the outcomes of the Bahrain protests will not have as much impact on world affairs as those in Turkey or Brazil. But this is simply not the case. Bahrain sits at a critical juncture between one of the U.S.’s closest allies—Saudi Arabia—and one of its largest rivals—Iran. To American policy-makers concerned about national security, Bahrain should be viewed as a potential flashpoint that could affect world energy prices. However, national security concerns should not overshadow the demands of Bahraini citizens, or give their desire to have their voices heard any less importance. Bahrain is full of people calling for the most basic of human rights. The Bahraini people just want to be heard.
Photo: Al Jazeera English (cc).
a global affairs media network
The Continuing Struggle in Bahrain
July 17, 2013
In recent months protests have erupted in Turkey, Bulgaria, and most recently in Brazil. These new protests add to the increasing number of countries that are experiencing poor government-to-citizen relations. As the list grows longer it becomes easy to focus only on the biggest and most recent protests, but in doing this we tend to forget about the smaller, but no less important corners of the globe.
The small island nation of Bahrain has been in the depths of political unrest for years. Protests have been increasing in number and ferocity since the start of the Bahraini Uprising of 2011, sparked by the Arab Spring, but Bahrain’s protests have seen coverage drop off in mainstream media since 2012. Contrary to what this lack of attention implies, the issues that sparked the protests initially have not been resolved in Bahrain.
Not everyone has forgotten however. In Washington, DC, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) continues in the struggle to bring awareness to this grief-stricken country. The Diplomatic Courier contacted Husain Abdulla, founder and Director of ADHRB, and discussed the ongoing turmoil in Bahrain and what can be done about it.
ADHRB fosters awareness of and support for democracy and human rights in Bahrain by engaging with key actors within the U.S. government to advocate for stronger U.S. policies that support human rights for the Bahraini people. While paraphrasing their goals, Abdulla explained, “Our long-term goal is to see accountability and basic human rights extended to all Bahraini citizens.”
Much of the turmoil in Bahrain revolves around the royal family and a government with poor democratic representation. While the ruling family are Sunni Muslims, the majority of the population are Shia. “No minority can rule over a majority forever,” Abdulla explained, “It just doesn’t work.”
Abdulla further explained, “ADHRB is not a political organization; we are purely a human rights group. Our aim is to ensure that everybody in Bahrain be able to express themselves without fear of oppression.”
“The people want their rights to be protected, not quashed, and they’re not asking for a lot.” Abdulla continued, “They want equal representation, they want prisoners of conscience to be released, they want police officers who killed or tortured to be convicted, and they want people who were fired from their jobs to be reinstated.”
While there are a growing number of people who are calling for the overthrow of the regime, the main opposition group does not want that. Abdulla explained, “They want a constitutional monarchy, they are telling the royal family, ‘you can stay, we just want equal representation.’”
When asked what U.S. citizens could do to help bring awareness to Bahrain’s struggle, Abdulla stated, “Stay informed—get the people who actually can cause change, to cause change. The more people who get outraged about this and the more people who actually call members of Congress or sign petitions, there will be more people who will have to start paying attention.”
Bahrain may be just a small island nation, and many Americans believe the outcomes of the Bahrain protests will not have as much impact on world affairs as those in Turkey or Brazil. But this is simply not the case. Bahrain sits at a critical juncture between one of the U.S.’s closest allies—Saudi Arabia—and one of its largest rivals—Iran. To American policy-makers concerned about national security, Bahrain should be viewed as a potential flashpoint that could affect world energy prices. However, national security concerns should not overshadow the demands of Bahraini citizens, or give their desire to have their voices heard any less importance. Bahrain is full of people calling for the most basic of human rights. The Bahraini people just want to be heard.
Photo: Al Jazeera English (cc).
