Critics have often argued that Western nations — the United
States in particular — have been hypocritical in their policies
towards Bahrain. Is this claim accurate? Too often, no full
overview has been given on what is going on in the country. Who
precisely are the predominantly Shi’a protestors? What is at stake?
Most importantly, which outside nations can influence the
situation?
Bahrain’s Shi’a majority, under Sunni minority rule since the
arrival of the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty around two hundred years
ago, has for a long time justifiably complained of problems of
discrimination, and while Bahrain began moving in the direction of
democratic reform at the turn of this century, the reforms were
gradually reversed as the government became concerned that Iran
would seek to take advantage of greater political freedom on the
island.
Indeed, by 2010, the American human rights think-tank Freedom
House had demoted Bahrain from “partly free” to “not free,” citing,
among other things, “harassment of opposition political figures”
and “worsening sectarian discrimination.”
Now, the rulers’ anxieties over Iranian designs on the island
are not entirely unjustified. Iran has made a claim to Bahrain many
times (most recently in 2005), and has viewed the country as its
fourteenth province since Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s declaration
of this status in November 1957.
Since the protests first began in Bahrain, it has been apparent
that there are a number of pro-Iranian, Shi’a Islamists among the
demonstrators: specifically the al-Haq movement led by Hassan
Mushaima, who are to be distinguished from other Shi’a political
movements in Bahrain like al-Wefaq, whose aim, like Iraq’s Shi’a
political factions, is generally to ensure that the nation’s Shi’a
majority leads the political process, while allowing the al-Khilafa
dynasty to remain as a limited, constitutional monarchy, rather
than subordinating the country to Iranian interests and plans.
The regime’s mistake, however, has been to view the protesters
as a monolithic bloc that is part of an Iranian plot to take over
the island. Instead of trying to work towards a compromise with the
more mainstream opposition and only putting on trial the likes of
Hassan Mushaima, the government has targeted for detention and
torture protestors from al-Wefaq and even the secular social
democrats of al-Waad. In the case of al-Waad, it is notable that
the group’s currently imprisoned leader — Ibrahim Sharif — is a
Sunni, and that al-Waad has cautioned protestors to be alert to
possible Iranian attempts to take advantage of the
demonstrations.
Meanwhile, a group of twenty medical professionals, who merely
aided protestors injured at the hands of the security forces during
the brutal crackdown on demonstrations, were convicted on charges
of trying to overthrow the government. Bahraini officials recently
announced their intention to hold a civilian trial for these
medical professionals, but questions have rightly been raised
regarding how different this new trial will really be.
Unfortunately, the regime’s actions have only helped to trap
itself in a vicious circle by empowering the extremists who promote
a zero-sum narrative that the government and monarchy must be
dismantled completely. The longer the repression continues, the
more likely the window of opportunity for a reasonable compromise
will disappear completely.
Yet more at fault here is Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), which have similarly regarded the protests as an
Iranian conspiracy and have accordingly deployed thousands of
“Peninsula Shield” troops — drawn from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait
and the United Arab Emirates — to aid in the repression of
demonstrations. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has looked elsewhere
among Sunni nations to recruit support for the Peninsula Shield
force.
For example, as the Middle East Media Research Institute
reports, in return for Saudi promises to aid Pakistan’s economy,
Pakistani private security firms have recruited thousands of active
and demobilized Pakistani troops to assist the government in
Bahrain, while Malaysia has promised to send additional contingents
if necessary.
It is only in light of Saudi Arabia’s and the GCC’s role that
one can appreciate why the West can do virtually nothing about
Bahrain. Despite repeated calls by Western governments for reform
and denunciations of the mass trials and convictions of medical
professionals, only the Saudis and the GCC can really influence the
path the Bahraini government chooses, and they are simply not
listening to Western governments on the subject of Bahrain after
the supposed ‘betrayal’ of Hosni Mubarak back in February.
Thus, the West is not being hypocritical about Bahrain at all,
even taking into account approval of arms sales to the island. The
United States’ primary interest is of course to prevent the likes
of Hassan Mushaima from ever coming to power and maintain the base
in Bahrain for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Its presence in the
Persian Gulf is of course vital to prevent Iran from achieving
hegemony over these waters, especially in the event that the
country acquires nuclear weapons and can thereby gain a
stranglehold over a major route for much of the world’s oil
supplies. The West is unhappy with the status quo, but also willing
to put up with it because there are no viable ways to convince the
government, Saudi Arabia and the GCC that a political compromise is
needed. Options are severely limited, and the
West is simply acting on its own interests.
