Turmoil in the Island Kingdom

Bahrain used to be the hub of business in the Gulf. It also prided itself as an open state where democracy thrives. The events of the recent weeks however shattered that myth. The peaceful protesters were killed by the Bahraini forces which are mostly composed of non Bahrainis. Why kill your own people? Protests in any democratic countries are a natural occurrence and are part and parcel of the democracy. The police and military should never kill or fire towards its own people.

The Bahraini government has been saying that they have to disperse the crowd in order to start a dialog. I don’t buy that argument. How can you start a dialog when you’re already killing your own people? The families of those innocent victims will never allow it. They’ve already created so much animosity that it’s difficult to forget and let go.

The problem with Bahrain is not sectarian but political. The minority composed of the ruling Sunni family is only 30% of the population while the Shiites majority comprised 70% of the population. The 70% of the population is marginalized in employment, economic status and are often discriminated. With the makeup of the Bahraini population, the ruling minority has a lot to fear for. They fear of losing control particularly if a fair election is made. The ruling minority should make an effort to reach out in order to solve the problem. The issue is political and can never be resolved by firing weapons against them.

Power they say is intoxicating and history and recent events have proven it once and again. Elected presidents with fixed terms have no intentions of stepping down. How much more for the unelected monarch who do not have to go through the election process?