Monday, November 10, 2014

Bahrain: Civil society and Political Imagination By Jane Kinninmont and Omar Sirri

The following summary of the recent Chatham House (Royal Institute for International Affairs) paper on Bahrain was prepared by the NCF team. This summary attempts to reflect views expressed in that paper (but is not an exact précis of that paper) and does not represent an NCF position.

This paper looks at the continuing crisis in Bahrain which predates the 2011 demonstrations. This crisis is deepening sectarian tensions and damaging the Kingdom’s economy. This in turn is hampering investment, deterring expatriate talent and causing a brain drain whereby Shi’a Bahrainis and even Sunni Bahrainis are moving abroad to seek better economic opportunities.

Despite Crown Prince Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa’s attempts to encourage the opposition to participate in the 2014 elections by saying that Parliament would discuss five areas of possible reform, the opposition has decided against standing. However, the Crown Prince’s proposal did not guarantee reforms and some critical issues were not addressed. If institutions fail to create space for conflict resolution then tensions will play out in the streets.

The main reason behind the 2011 demonstrations was the failure of the limited reforms after 2001 to satisfy Bahrain’s diverse political constituencies. Since 2011 there have been various failed attempts at dialogue. These talks are tightly controlled by the authorities leading to opposition complaints that they are rigged. This has led to political and social polarisation in Bahrain and increased the risk of further radicalisation of the country’s opposition.

Another issue is Bahraini citizenship; the government has naturalised some 90,000 people since 1999.[1] [2]

Civil society operates under significant restrictions. An elected municipal council of Manama which was established in the 1920s and the Shi’a Ulema Council (a council of Shi’a clerics) were dissolved this year. Many civil society groups and opposition activists are accused of acting as agents for foreign powers, primarily Iran, despite claims from the opposition saying they are driven by national aims and not by a desire to create an Iranian style Islamic nation in Bahrain.

New laws on ‘insulting the king’ have discouraged the country’s moderate and independent voices from middle class families who feel they have lots to lose from participating in constructive debates for fear of insulting the monarchy.

Between January and August 2014, there were a series of back-channel discussions involving the Crown Prince, the royal court and several opposition groups including al-Wefaq in hopes of avoiding another boycott by al-Wefaq. In September 2014, the Crown Prince announced a new five-point framework for dialogue. These main points were:

  1. Electoral Districts - a commitment to redefining electoral districts to ensure fairer representation and measures to enhance electoral oversight
  2. Legislative Authority – revising the appointment process for the Shura Council and giving parliament the ability to question the prime minister
  3. Cabinet Formation - new rights of approval for the parliament on the appointment of the cabinet including the right to seek amendments of or reject the government’s annual plan
  4. Judicial Reform - a commitment to further judicial reform including the use of international expertise in order to entrench standards in line with international best practice and strengthen the constitutional independence of the judiciary
  5. Security – a commitment to the universal application of the rule of law and a new code of conduct for the security forces preserving the impartiality, probity and integrity of service

However, al-Wefaq rejected the proposed reforms as superficial and claimed that the five points fell short of the ‘seven principles’ framework that was agreed with the Crown Prince in 2011 which included (according to the Chatham House report): “a parliament with full authority, a government that represents the will of the people, ‘fair’ voting districts, discussion of naturalisation policies, combating corruption, protecting public assets, addressing sectarian tensions and implementing BICI recommendations on human rights”. There was no mention of political prisoners or sectarian discrimination. The failure to make any progress in the aftermath of the national dialogue has contributed to political and social polarisation in Bahrain and increased the risk of further radicalisation of the opposition forces.

With the opposition refusing to participate in the 2014 elections without any interim political deal, Bahrain’s problems will remain for the foreseeable future. However, work can still be done at the grassroots and civil society level to draw up proposals.

The regional media tend to contribute to the polarisation of public opinion in Bahrain. Iranian, Lebanese and Gulf television channels offer overwhelmingly partial views of the conflicts in the region, portraying their side as only acting in self-defence while the other side is the instigator of the conflict and the ensuing violence.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, US, UK all have overwhelming influence and power over Bahrain which is why Bahrain and the world are watching the tentative rapprochement between the US and Iran. For their part, most of the opposition groups have called for Western allies to reduce or remove their support for the government but at the same time some opposition groups and activist argue that calling for Western powers to apply pressure will only exacerbate the long standing problem of excessive foreign influence.

The sectarian violence in Syria and Iraq could serve as a spur for Bahrain to repair community relations and address political disputes in order to avoid suffering the same fate.

Some of the suggestions proposed in the report are:

  • Addressing perceptions of economic and social justice relating to jobs, corruption, discrimination and population pressures
  • Authorities to use Gulf aid to fund training, job and enterprise opportunities on a more meritocratic basis
  • A large proportion of Bahrain’s educated middle class and its youth could potentially lead grassroots dialogue efforts and play a constructive role in drawing up a political settlement. Two thirds of Bahrain’s population are under the age of 30; it was the young who were the driving force behind the 2011 uprisings
  • Dialogue should be revived and based on the Crown Prince’s seven principles and the BICI recommendations
  • The Bahrain Debate should be reinstated and broadcast on national television
  • Dialogue centres should be set up in each area to collect ideas that would be relayed to relevant government agencies and efforts made to bring various people to these centres to expose them to different perspectives
  • The ‘Youth Parliament’ should be reinstated
  • Instead of promoting new civil society organisations, the US and UK should discourage the authorities from repressing those that already exist


This is the link to the full report on the Chatham House website: http://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/bahrain-civil-society-and-political-imagination





[1] A significant percentage are Sunnis from Pakistan. The Pak-Bahrain defence cooperation helped Bahrain set up its naval forces and 18 per cent of the Gulf state's air force comprises Pakistani personnel. It is estimated that almost 10,000 Pakistanis are serving in security services.
[2] This has made some in the Shi’a community in Bahrain uneasy, fearing they would get pushed out by the growing Sunni population thus becoming a minority.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Bahrain opposition group al-Wefaq's activities frozen . . . and then unfrozen

On 28th October, a Bahrain court issued an order suspending the activities of the country's main Shia opposition group, al-Wefaq. This came less than a month before elections are to be held.

This ruling against al-Wefaq would have meant that the group effectively could not operate for three months in Bahrain. It also prevented the group from organising rallies, press conferences, issuing statements or using its offices. Earlier this month, al-Wefaq had announced its intention to boycott the parliamentary elections scheduled for 22nd November. It complained that it felt that the Bahrain government had not made genuine efforts for reconciliation or reform since the 2011 demonstrations.

In a statement, al-Wefaq accused the Bahrain leadership of "ruling with an Iron fist" and "considers the measure irrational and irresponsible." It also said that "the regime is heading to a unilateral life and replacing the people with sham foundations and projects." Opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman stated that they will be appealing the verdict, "we will appeal for sure and will continue on our peaceful struggle and path."

In July 2014, the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs filed a lawsuit seeking to suspend all activities of Shia opposition groups for three months, This came after the leaders of al-Wefaq, Sheikh Ali Salman and Khalil al-Marzooq  were charged with holding an illegal meeting with Tom Malinowski, US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. Mr Malinowski was subsequently asked to leave the country.

The Ministry of Justice took the group to court on charges of "violation of the law on associations" after failing to comply with transparency rules when holding general meetings. The decision was issued after the opposition had decided to boycott the upcoming elections against the advice of much of the international community. The Administrative Court issued a decision to suspend al-Wefaq's activity and gave it "three months to correct irregularities observed against it."

In an interview with al-Monitor, Sheikh Ali Salman commented, "This decision is political and aimed at punishing opponents of the status quo and advocates of reform and democracy. There is little doubt that this is linked to our boycotting of the formal elections. The decision was taken out of revenge for our practice of the natural right that associations and citizens ought to exercise."

And then . . .

The government of Bahrain announced it would suspend the suspension. Thank God for some common sense at last.










Thursday, September 11, 2014

UPR Mid-term Session

The Kingdom of Bahrain publicly committed to presenting its mid-term report on the implementation of the 2012 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations during the 27th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva this month. In the wake of protests and human rights abuse in 2011, the Bahrain government accepted all of the recommendations from the 2011 Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) as well as 158 of the 172 recommendations from their 2012 UPR. 

The UN has also called on Bahrain to release Maryam al-Khawaja and has expressed concern over on-going human rights violations. On August 30th, upon arriving in Bahrain, Maryam al-Khawaja was taken into custody and charged with allegedly assaulting a lieutenant and a police officer after refusing to hand over her mobile phone during a search. Maryam has denied the charges and called them "vindictive and fabricated." If found guilty, she could face a maximum of two years imprisonment. She has come to Bahrain to visit her a father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent human rights activist who is currently serving a life sentence for attempting to overthrow the Bahrain government. He staged a 110-day hunger strike in 2012 and is currently on a hunger strike again. 

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bahrain upheld a ten year sentence against photo-journalist Ahmad Humaidan. Humaidan was convicted of taking part in an attack on a police station in April 2012. According to various human rights organisations, he was simply covering the demonstrations and was not involved in the violence. Humaidan continues to maintain his innocence. He has been detained since December 2012. 

Despite repeated promises to implement reforms and to engage in national dialogue with opposition groups, the Bahrain government has repeatedly failed to do so and by continuing to detain the al-Khawajas, it is a clear indication that they are not serious about their promises. Furthermore, Bahrain's refusal to act will only damage their potential as a regional economic force and present and future investment from its global partners like India. India which holds vital stakes in the security and stability of the Gulf region, is an important partner for Bahrain with bilateral trade exceeding USD 1.3 billion in 2013-14. At present, there are over 350,000 Indian nationals who reside and work in Bahrain. 

The NCF will provide an in-depth review of the mid-term report once it is made available to the public. 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Bahrain update


In a continuation of the sporadic violence began by the pro-democracy uprising in 2011, an explosion in the predominately Shiite town of East Eker in early July killed a police official on patrol. The police officer is the thirteenth officer reported to have been killed as a result of pro-democracy fuelled violence. The Sunni monarchy has generally responded with harsh punitive measures against protesting Shias, who constitute the majority of the population of Bahrain.

On 2 August, several vehicles were also set alight as unrest began in the capital, Manama. A group of masked youths were reported to be responsible for the attacks on cars and shops in the area, but the violence is also likely linked to the periodic violent protests associated with the 2011 uprising. Despite these two incidents, the scale of violence and unrest in Bahrain is still considered to be limited.

 Diplomacy and External Affairs

On the diplomatic scene, the US Assistant Secretary of State of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour was recently expelled from Bahrain in July after meeting with members of the Shia opposition group, al Wefaq. While Bahrains officials have insisted that relations with the US remain sound after the incident, the leader of al Wefaq, Sheik Ali Salman has been charged for illegally organising the meeting without the approval with government officials. The charge itself is that of contacting a representative of a foreign government in violation of the political associations law and related ministerial decisions.

Domestic Affairs

Internally, Bahrain has as recently as last week announced plans to further regulate the appointment process for public sector jobs, with a special focus on undersecretaries, assistant undersecretaries and directors. The nominations for appointment will now be managed by a committee chaired by the vice president of the Civil Service Bureau.