Bahrain Protests

Following the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt it looks like Bahrain is next to be hit by protests (Seeing as Iran completely flattened them). A small oil rich state, closely allied to the West not giving into quite reasonable requests from protesters and just infuriating them even more.

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Originally Posted by BBC News

Protests have been banned in Bahrain and the military has been ordered to tighten its grip after the violent removal of anti-government demonstrators, state TV reports.

The army would take every measure necessary to preserve security, the interior ministry said.

Three people died and 231 were injured when police broke up the main protest camp, said Bahrain's health minister.

The unrest comes amid a wave of protest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Bahrain's demonstrators want wide-ranging political reforms and had been camped out in the capital, Manama, since Tuesday.

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What surprises me though is that not only are they following the failed tactics of Egypt and Tunisia, they're being far more brutal than them. I highly suggest a read of this...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/op...18kristof.html

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Originally Posted by New York Times

As a reporter, you sometimes become numbed to sadness. But it is just plain heartbreaking to be in modern, moderate Bahrain today and watch as a critical American ally uses tanks, troops, guns and clubs to crush a peaceful democracy movement and then lie about it.

This kind of brutal repression is normally confined to remote and backward nations, but this is Bahrain! An international banking center. An important American naval base, home of the Fifth Fleet. A wealthy and well-educated nation with a large middle class and cosmopolitan values.

To be here and see corpses of protesters with gunshot wounds, to hear an eyewitness account of an execution of a handcuffed protester, to interview paramedics who say they were beaten for trying to treat the injured – yes, all that just breaks my heart.

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I wish them luck, and I hope the Iranians stay strong. And then we'll see the whole of the Middle East revolt against their oppressive governments.

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Originally Posted by Conservative,

I wish them luck, and I hope the Iranians stay strong. And then we'll see the whole of the Middle East revolt against their oppressive governments.

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Likewise, unfortunately it doesn't look like there will be a sustained protest in Iran though, their oppression is on a whole new level. Hundreds of them were arrested and last time this happened, many were executed including some of their families so you can't blame them.

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Originally Posted by The New York Times

Dr. Ekri, a distinguished plastic surgeon, had just returned from a trip to Houston. He identified himself as a physician to the riot police, according to other doctors and family members, based partly on what Dr. Ekri told them before he lost consciousness. But then, they said, the riot police handcuffed him and began beating him with sticks and kicking him, while shouting insults against Shiites. Finally, they pulled down his pants and threatened to rape him, although they abandoned that idea and eventually allowed an ambulance to rescue him.

"He went to help people," said his father, who was at the bedside. "It's his duty to help people. And then this happened."

Three ambulance drivers or paramedics told me that they had been pulled out of their ambulances and beaten by the police. One, Jameel, whose head was bandaged and his arm was in a cast, told me that police had clubbed him and that a senior officer had then told him: “If I see you again, I’ll kill you.”

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Some of that's just awful, I have faith in the Bahrain protest though.

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY it will be like the fall of the Soviet Union - one after another until eventually even the tightest and strictest regimes fall - albeit probably violently.

I hope the Iranians stick at it, because they CAN do it. Bahrain I hope will succeed, and then i'm sure others will follow (probably Qatar, Syria, around that area). If each one triggers another one, eventually they'll all fall, no matter how much the Government tries to stop it.

Iran is completely disgusting though. It's a dictatorship and I hope they hold out and eventually bring the President down. No matter what he does.

Wasn't the military ultimately on the side of the people in Eygpt and Tunisia? If the army is on the side of the oppression, I think this protest will get messy... oh messier. Hopefully, people power will win. Good luck to them :)

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Originally Posted by Inseriousity.

Wasn't the military ultimately on the side of the people in Eygpt and Tunisia? If the army is on the side of the oppression, I think this protest will get messy... oh messier. Hopefully, people power will win. Good luck to them :)

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The army in Egypt refused to take sides.

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Originally Posted by Conservative,

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY it will be like the fall of the Soviet Union - one after another until eventually even the tightest and strictest regimes fall - albeit probably violently.

I hope the Iranians stick at it, because they CAN do it. Bahrain I hope will succeed, and then i'm sure others will follow (probably Qatar, Syria, around that area). If each one triggers another one, eventually they'll all fall, no matter how much the Government tries to stop it.

Iran is completely disgusting though. It's a dictatorship and I hope they hold out and eventually bring the President down. No matter what he does.

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Iran is a difficult one, western polling before the Iranian election actually showed Ahmadinejad was on for a win, a win which he got.

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Originally Posted by -:Undertaker:-

Iran is a difficult one, western polling before the Iranian election actually showed Ahmadinejad was on for a win, a win which he got.

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Still doesn't change the fact he is an evil man.

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Originally Posted by Conservative,

Still doesn't change the fact he is an evil man.

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I completely agree, I do worry about his nuclear ambitions and it's a terrible example of a democracy with little or no rights for the people. I would happily see him ousted from power however Undertaker does have a point I'm afraid, a lot of the people in Iran do support Ahmadinejad. The people in Iran are reasonably prosperous despite the international sanctions and the reason the Protests have so little success is because Ahmadinejad does have a surprising number of supporters. This won't last forever of course but I just don't think the people are uniting against him yet so it's very unlikely he'll go in the next few years. In Tunisia and Egypt, an overwhelming majority from all fronts opposed the President. In Iran there's two sides, the bigger one being Ahmadinejads.

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Originally Posted by Inseriousity.

Wasn't the military ultimately on the side of the people in Eygpt and Tunisia? If the army is on the side of the oppression, I think this protest will get messy... oh messier. Hopefully, people power will win. Good luck to them :)

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Hmm well in Egypt and Tunisia, the Police gave up after a few days of protesting (and joined in the protests), the army supported the government/president initially and then became neutral. And then at the end it supported the people to overthrow the governments.

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Originally Posted by Conservative,

I wish them luck, and I hope the Iranians stay strong. And then we'll see the whole of the Middle East revolt against their oppressive governments.

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Iranians will be supressed by Ahmedejinad anyways..

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Originally Posted by Conservative,

Still doesn't change the fact he is an evil man.

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Well faced with the damage done by Mr Ahmadinejad to the region (none, more or less) compared to western foreign policy, especially Mr Blair, Mr Bush and their successors - I would say we do not need to worry about what lays outside our borders but more about what lays within our borders.

The more we meddle in the Middle East, the more support people such as Ahmadinejad gain because there will be people in Iran wanting the opposition party in power but when they see terrible regimes around them being propped up by the western world while the west bleats about freedom to Iran and making threats towards Iran.. well you can see why they will rally around Ahmadinejad with his strong anti-U.S. rhetoric.

He positions himself as the defender of his country against foreign powers, and given the threats made against Iran; he is that defender.