Manama - Saturday morning

Hi Bloggers,

There was certainly plenty of action yesterday, though, myself, I only managed to capture the Sunni pro-government parade during the day. It focussed mainly around the Al Fateh mosque in Juffair, but also spread right down the highway to the Diplomatic Area. The overwhelming feeling of this demonstration was the wealth and opulence of the Sunnis. Everyone was wearing their Sunday (read Friday!) best and there were large convoys of 4W drive cars. This was in strong contrast to the more working or lower middle class feel of the Shi-ite protesters, who even had the pluck to camp out.



Tragically, I heard there were more shootings at the Pearl Roundabout in the evening. CNN is running a very graphic video, clearly showing someone being shot through the head. I went down there myself at about 11.00 pm, but it was all quiet again by the time. There was still a heavy police and army presence, so I backed off pretty quick. It's surprising how close you get on a bicycle, though, because it's a nifty, tricky and fast way of getting around.

The Crown Prince addressed the nation yesterday, but frankly I found him almost as hypocrytical as the Foregn Minister the day before. He called for calm and the recovery of our "humanity". Although superficially the right buzz words, it makes it sound like the current situation is a shared responsibility, involving two-way violence, but this is not so. The only "inhumanity" is coming from the police and army, not the protesters. The protesters who were shot at yesterday even had their hands in the air at the time.

Today is another weekend day, so there will probably be more demos. Whether the situation will calm from Sunday onwards remains to be seen.

Will contine to update,
Robert

Pearl Roundabout Aftermath

Hi Bloggers,

As you all probably already know, things turned extremely nasty early Thursday morning (ca. 3.00 am), when the police brutally attacked the protesters while they were still sleeping. In a concerted and clearly well planned operation, the protesters were forced to flee. The police used tear gas, rubber bullets and bird shot. A further three people were killed. There must have been some resistance by the protesters, though, as there were a lot of stones strewn around.

I think what makes it so shocking was that up to that point the protesters had kept their activities completely peaceful (see previous blog) and there was no need for this kind of brutality. Moreover, there were women and children in amongst the crowd. It's not as if they were charging down streets smashing things or setting cars on fire, etc.

Anyway, I went down to the Pearl Roundabout to see the aftermath. Basically it was cordoned off by police, and I was quickly waved away by police (see top picture) as soon as they saw I had a camera. But I did manage to get a few shots.

The Foreign Minister has since gone on television justifying the attack, saying it was to avoid sectarianism developing. A highly paradoxical statement, given that it is precisely because the Shi-ites feel they are treated as second class citizens that they demonstrated. Surely a much wiser course would have have been to arrange negotiations and try to meet at least some of the Shi-ite demands, considering they do make up 70% of the population.

Now, it is more likely that the protesters resolve will be hardened. However, it could well be that the government is simply going to be too strong for the demonstrators. Fobodingly, the other gulf states have guaranteed their support for the Bahraini government. Should their be more demos, we may will see Saudi tanks coming in too.

Will update soon,
Rob

Protests in Manama

Hi Bloggers,

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Well, not much exciting had been going on here in Bahrain until this recent wave of protests swept over the Arab world. It started in Tunisia - I've got a mate working there at the BC who was evacuated, incidentally - and has ended up here in Bahrain and Yemen just down the road. Generally, Bahrain is a pretty sedate kind of place, so I was surprised at the strength and determination of the protesters. It turned nasty on Monday when police tear-gassed and even shot rubber bullets and bird shot into the crowd. Two people were killed. I think this has just served to strengthen their resolve.

Fortunately, the police have pulled back now. The powers that be seem to be aware of the international attention they're getting and are consequently playing it safe. Let's hope they enter genuine negotiations with the protesters, who are basically Shi-ites. Shi-ites are the majority, but the country is ruled by Sunnis, who are the wealthiest group and hold all the positions of power.

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It'll be interesting to see how long this goes on and what turns it takes. I'll keep you updated.

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Cheers,

Rob