Freedom of Speech having been robbed by parliamentarians,the very people elected to defend and promote this basic freedom, I can clearly foresee a time of the creation of concentration camps in Bahrain.
Three MPs in particular want to immediately legislate against peaceful public protests and to gag any critic of the government and its officers:
Khalifa Al-Dhahrani the chairman of the Council of Deputies declared that he would use bulldozers (arabic) to remove protesters cars off the road.
Mohammed Khalid wants to restrict public demonstrations of any sort to “protect” the peaceful people of Bahrain, asking if parliament would rather wait until “blood reaches the knees” (arabic) before it would do anything in this regard.
Adel Al-Mo’awdah is putting an urgent motion to “protect the people” from the “disturbances” witnessed by Bahrain, clearly alluding to the various demonstrations in support of the prisoner of conscience Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.
To me, the events of the past few months have clearly given credence to the phrase which I have riled against before: the Bahraini Democracy Experiment, because it cannot be anything else. It clearly doesn’t work, not in its current form, and not with so many detractors hell-bent on destroying significant progress made sincerely by the king and the crown prince.
Let’s just review what’s happened over the past few weeks:
[1] some moron called Abdulhadi Al-Khawajah took it upon himself to become a living martyr, pandering to ignorant and easily excitable population, not only asked for the resignation of the prime minister, but ended his “lecture” with a prayer – a prayer – entreating God to “take” the prime minister away. To me this is the height of stupidity, if one has an important a message as to put solutions to poverty, then one should stick to that message. If you would then want to blame the leadership of the country for the economic stagnation and increase in poverty level, then by all means do so, it is fully within your right as a citizen, but know the limit and more importantly understand how best to deliver your criticism. Certainly not by lifting your hands to the sky and ask your god to kill someone.
[2] the government – as usual
– over-reacted. If it had just kept quiet it would have proved quite a number of things: (a) there is freedom of speech, (b) it is tolerant and accepting of criticism, (c) it has accepted the initiative of the crown prince to try to eradicate labour and economic problems in the country, (d) close the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. What it did instead is close the most ancient cultural club on the island, the Al-Oruba Club which was a catalyst for so many democratic movements through the recent history of Bahrain, and make a martyr of Al-Khawajah hence like a bewildered child play right into his hands.
[3] the Minister of Labour not to be outdone, canceled scheduled meetings with the four boycotting political societies accusing them of having illicit contacts with “foreign governments” specifically accusing them of meeting with the British Ambassador. The minister’s meetings were supposed to find ways in ending the constitutional stalemate and find ways to re-integrate these societies within the political life. A few days later he (the minister) all but admitted that there was no such meeting with “foreign” powers.
[4] parliament “warned” Britain and the United States not to interfere in Bahrain’s internal affairs. That was due to the United States’ State Department voicing concern for the apprehension of Abdulhadi Al-Khawajah and the closure of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.
[5] Transparency International brought out its corruption index which showed that Bahrain slipped from its position last year, and not a word about that was said in parliament, concerning themselves clearly with more important matters like the theft of personal freedoms and freedom of speech, rather than the ensuing catastrophe of the disappearance of capital and foreign investment due to this report.
[6] the creative approach by the crown prince which has a real potential of wrenching this country out of the doldrums of unemployment is now all but dead, completely over-shadowed by everything I discussed above. To me, everything that has happened since the Labour Reform conference seem to have taken place specifically to discredit the crown prince and his vision! I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist, but why is it that one side of the regime is trying almost single handedly to rescue this country, while the other aided and abetted by the parliament no less is trying its damnest to do the opposite?
Why? Who would benefit from all this tension that is ripping the country apart these days? The Bahraini people? The government? The “old guard”? Who?
Isn’t it time to stop these childish games and get on with the very difficult task of raising standards of living, standards of education, standards of labour and standards of thought in these islands?
Isn’t it time that the government grew up and faced the facts that we are in the 21st century and it takes a different approach to govern?
Isn’t it time for the parliament to understand that personal freedoms and freedoms of speech are not only sacrosanct but are the basis of democracy and progress?
Isn’t it time, Mr. Prime Minister, that you accept criticism from where ever that comes and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are a much bigger person than those minnows who love the glory of the 15-minutes of fame culture?
Isn’t it time to release the moronic Abdulhadi Al-Khawajah and let him bray his own symphony until people themselves tire of him?
Isn’t it time to re-open the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and let it do the little good that it was starting to do?
nice in/out link icons “borrowed” from haitham’s blog!
