research paper

The Bahraini up rising was a series of anti-government protests that occurred in 2011 to 2014. The protests were led by the Shia dominant and the Sunni minority. Hadi Al-Rashdi (2019) highlights that these protests were stimulated by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring and the Iranian unrest of 2011 to 2012. Besides, the protests escalated every day’s clashes immediately after the Bahrain government suppressed the rebellion under the assistance of the Gulf Corporation Council as well as the Peninsula Shield Force. The Protestants’ aim was to achieve a more political freedom and parity for the 70% Shia population.

Summary

· The Bahraini uprising protests were a series of unrests that amounted to a constant campaign of non-violence civil defiance and intense resistance in the Persia Gulf nation of Bahrain.

· The protests expanded to a call to bring an end to the lordship of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa after a grave night attack on 17th February of 2011.

· Occasional protests have constantly occurred since 2011.

· Immediately after lifting the state of emergence in 2011, the opposing party conducted many protests in every week.

· The police response was considered brutal and inhuman resulting to more than 2,929 arrests and several deaths.

Background

· The reasons for the Bahraini uprising date back to the beginning of 20th century

· Bahrainis have been on unrest over the last decades to demand for social, economic and political rights

· In Bahrainis, protests were experienced as early as 1920s

State of emergency

· A three month state of emergence was declared in in March 15th 2010 where protesters denounced the GCC intervention

· Clashes between protesters and police using short gun occurred in many locations

· The most violent clashes occurred in Sitra Island where the security officers clashed with protesters from morning till evening (Hadi Al-Rashdi, 2019).

· After the mediation, the opposition government accepted US initiative, however, the Bahrainis government rejected.

Human Rights

· The condition of human rights in Bahrainis has been questioned and criticized since 1920s to 2010.

· Bahrainis had committed numerous violations including systematic torture and frequent killings performed by the police department

· In 2010, police torture was common in Bahrainis and human rights was reported as “dismal”

· The majority of Bahrainis’ population complained about systematic discrimination in the government (Nakhleh, 2011).

Conclusion

· Bahrainis is relatively poor when compared with its Persian oil-rich neighbors and the protestants’ objective was to achieve social, economic and political freedom.

· Bahrainis government spent a lot of money on public relations mainly with the Public Relations companies in Britain to restore peace in a war and blooded image

References

Hadi Al-Rashdi, A. (2019). The Bahraini Uprising of 2011 and the Regime’s Securitisation of Sectarianism as a Survival Mechanism. Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 13(4), 509-533.

Nakhleh, E. (2011). Bahrain: Political development in a modernizing society. Lexington Books.