Bahrain government crackdown hinders dialogue
The Bahraini government’s calls for dialogue are hindered by lumping those advocating peaceful change with those who advocate violence.
Three years since the beginning of the crackdown on calls for human freedoms, security and an end to discrimination and corruption, Bahrain looks to have entered a period of spiraling repression and uncertainty.
The state was quick to characterize those who took part in protests as agents of neighboring Iran, "Shiite militants" and traitors. While protesters from both sects stood against sectarianism and held banners displaying messages of “Shiite and Sunni brothers,” the government played a foul public relations campaign to divide and conquer for an overall objective of power maintenance. It failed.
The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), commissioned by the Bahraini king in 2011, found no evidence of either Iranian involvement in the uprising or a sectarian conflict between the peoples. Clashes that are reported on state media have always been between protesters and members of the security forces, with little evidence to suggest a sectarian conflict among Bahrainis. The government spent millions on public relations firms in promoting its narrative, and in return exposed its violations internationally. Bahrain, once recognized as the shining light in a dark Middle East, turned off its light and invited foreign forces to crack down on its civilian population.
The Bahrain government claimed in 2011 that the invitation of foreign troops was merely to protect vital installations against external threats. The establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in itself was on the foundation of protecting member states against external threats only. However, the death on March 3 of an Emirati police lieutenant serving on a GCC force, who confronted protests in an isolated Bahraini village, has largely confirmed the contrary.
