Demonstrators in this tiny Gulf state have been thinking the unthinkable Two months ago, it would have been thought almost unthinkable to dislodge any of the long-standing Arab regimes, but following the events in Egypt and Tunisia some Arab populations have been beginning to think the unthinkable, writes Sherine Bahaa. Protesters in Bahrain, choosing 14 February as a "Day of Rage", have demonstrated for legal rights in imitation of protesters elsewhere in the Arab world, asking for "political reforms, the right of political participation, respect for human rights and the stopping of discrimination against Shias," said Nabil Rajab of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. However, while Bahrainis have been following the techniques adopted by the earlier Tunisian and Egyptian protesters, the Bahraini police have also shown themselves ready to use strong- arm tactics against the protesters. Security forces in the Persian Gulf state, home to the US Navy Fifth Fleet, fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, with one confirmed death, that of demonstrator Ali Mushaima, taking place on the first day of the protests. The funeral of Mushaima brought more people out onto the streets, following his body from the hospital morgue to his home outside the capital Manama for burial. The mourners chanted slogans demanding the ouster of the country's ruling elite, echoing similar calls in Tunisia and Egypt and leading to the death of another protester at the hands of the police. Both protesters killed were Shias. Prior to the eruption of the protests, with feelings of unrest in the air, the king of Bahrain tried to defuse the tension by ordering the payment of 1,000 dinars, some $2,700, to every Bahraini family. However, the move by the country's Sunni- dominated government failed to appease the kingdom's Shia majority, which has long demanded a greater voice in Bahraini affairs. Bahrain is the smallest of the countries making up the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional organisation, and it is characterised by its royal family, headed by King Hamad bin Eissa Al-Khalifa, and its ruling elites, who are mostly Sunnis. Some 70 per cent of Bahrain's population is Shia. Bahrain's main Shia opposition bloc Wefaq suspended its membership of the country's parliament on Tuesday, following the announcement of a second death in the demonstrations. "This is the first step, and we want to see dialogue," said Ibrahim Mattar, a Wefaq parliamentarian. While Bahrainis are not calling for the king to step down, unlike in the case of the demonstrators in Egypt and Tunisia who demanded the resignation of the countries' respective presidents, this has not eased the demonstrations. In an interview with The Washington Post, Abdel-Jalil Khalil, head of the Wefaq bloc in the country's parliament, said that "nobody wants to overthrow the king or the government. Our demands are different. Everybody is just asking for political reform." Wefaq performed impressively in Bahrain's October 2010 elections, winning 18 out of 40 seats in the country's Council of Representatives, the lower house of the Bahraini parliament. However, the council's power is balanced by an upper chamber, the Shura Council, whose members are appointed by the king, as are members of the government. Opposition leaders say this violates the intentions behind the Bahraini National Action Charter. News of the two deaths angered activists, who posted pictures of both men on Facebook and called for huge turnouts at their funerals and stepped up anti-government protests. The Facebook page called for an uprising on 14 February, and it had attracted more than 22,000 "Like"s by last Tuesday. "This is your chance to open the way for political and social reforms in line with the changes taking place in the Middle East. On 14 February, we will chant together 'the people want the reform of the regime,'" a message on the site read. As has been the case in other Arab countries, tech-savvy Bahrainis are using the Internet to demand that the government create jobs for unemployed young people and increase wages.
