Bahrain- What lies beneath

Bahraini women sit on the sidewalk during an anti-government protest that drew tens of thousands of opposition supporters on July 29, 2011.

Πηγή: PressTV
By Anthony Mathew Jacob
Sat Aug 13, 2011 11:36AM GMT

What an ironic world you and I live in! When the tyrants of the world speak about false liberty and fake equality they are greeted with claps and cheers. But when the oppressed and subjugated speak about liberty and equality they are greeted with batons and bullets.

It has been five long months since the people of Bahrain have got onto the streets demanding the ouster of their ruler, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Neither has the government given up on its inhuman crackdown on protests nor have the people on their determination.

The protests that began in mid-February this year have seen dozens of lives being lost, scores of activists arrested, and many more still missing. In its desperate attempt to silence the protesters, the Manama regime has even abducted doctors and nurses; their only fault being that they treated their fellow citizens injured in the protests.

The situation is no better for the journalists, lawyers and members of the opposition. Apart from violence, detention and torture the government has forcefully got its citizens to sign pledges that prohibit participation in any kind of anti-government rallies, failing which can lead to dire consequences.

The Al Khalifa regime is not alone in committing atrocities against its innocent citizens, its friends the Saudi and the UAE governments have sent in their troops to silence the protesters.

The US and UK governments are no better. The very weapons the US government sold to the Manama regime last December are used to crush the protests, the UK has not only supplied weapons to the Al Khalifa regime but also trained the Bahraini police in its brutal crackdown and the German deal to sell 200 leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia will only result in the loss of many more innocent lives.

These tyrants will do whatever is required to retain Bahrain, since they know very well that a lot will be lost if Bahrain is lost.

One wonders what is it that makes Bahrain so important? Is it only the oil or the banks or something else?

When it comes to natural resources, petroleum and natural gas are the most significant natural resources in Bahrain that dominate its economy and provide about 60 percent to its revenues. Bahrain was the first Gulf state to discover crude oil.

However its oil reserves are very little compared to its wealthy neighbors. Because of limited reserves, Bahrain has worked to diversify its economy over the past few years. The low taxation also makes Bahrain one of the best places in the Middle East to do business.

The financial sector plays a crucial role in shaping Bahrain's economy; the island nation has successfully transformed itself into an international banking hub with many international banks working out of Manama. Along with international banking, Islamic banking has also grown manifold in the last few years. There are about 400 licensed financial institutions, including 138 banks, of which 28 are purely Islamic, according to the Central Bank of Bahrain, which says assets held by the banking sector in Bahrain total USD224.1 billion. It is also home to almost 170 insurance companies.

However, it remains the second largest financial center of the Persian Gulf region after Dubai in the UAE.

Tourism plays an important role in the financial statistics of Bahrain, it accounts for nine percent of its GDP. It attracts around two million visitors from Saudi Arabia alone. One of the important means of boosting tourist numbers was the Bahrain formula 1 Grand Prix; however, this has been postponed due to the mass protests. The popular protests have given a bad image to the tourism industry in this tiny Island nation.

Bahrain is a key US ally in the region and the past few months have given sleepless nights to the Obama administration about its future. The fact that it is located near the world's largest oil reserves, a pro-American ruler is desperately needed to protect the American interests. Bahrain hosts the United States Fifth Fleet-a base that is home to 3,000 military personnel who oversee 30 naval ships and some 30,000 sailors that patrol the Persian Gulf and Arabian and Red seas. Bahrain may not be the most important US base in the Middle East but its proximity to the Saudi Arabian oilfields and being close to Iran is considered one of the best advantages of this base, and the White House is certainly not willing to give it up so easily.

The biggest fear of the hegemonic powers is an Islamic government that can come into existence in Bahrain, like its neighbor Iran, which is one of the very few nations of the world that stand up against the oppressive powers of the world today. Imagine the fate of the US and UK governments with another Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and another President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The ruling Al Khalifa regime will do all that is in their power to maintain the governments. But as they say, "All that goes up must come down."

However, powerful the Al Khalifa regime may portray itself to be, a 20-year-old poet has sent shivers down its spine. The people of Bahrain still have a long road to travel.

They may not have found their freedom yet, but they certainly have not lost their hope for it.