The Bahraini parliament used to be a matter of pride to all Bahrainis, for or against this “democratic experiment,” in that at least we have one of the very few elected representative councils in the Arab world. We hoped that at the very least it would oversee the government’s performance, raise the living standards for all on this island and guard against human rights abuses.
Unfortunately through the last 2 years, the MPs themselves, led by their chairman have done everything in their power to destroy those hopes.
They have proved themselves without a shadow of a doubt as incompetent at best, seditious at worst. Yet there doesn’t seem to be any real public outcry to carry these clowns out of office. There hasn’t been any demonstrations against the parliament, nor has there been any demand for the wholesale dismissal of at least some of its members.
Isn’t it time to boot them out before they do even more dire damage to us and our island? What are we waiting for? For them to approve and pass the horrendous demonstrations law? To completely disregard any kinds of freedoms? For Al-Dhahrani to bring out his bulldozers and wipe out peaceful and democratic demonstrations?
Or are we just happy with Jassim Al-Saidi and Co to send us back to the caves once and for all?
Isn’t it ironic that when we who consider ourselves oh so superior to the Saudis and their regime, we find that the Saudis are publicly criticising one of the bastions of their rule, while we cower and fear for our very lives because we dare to support the concept of human rights?
The government is never going to do anything about this parliament, as it doesn’t have to, their incompetence plays directly into its court. You asked for democracy, this is it!
So it must then be down to us to do something.
I ask every single Bahraini citizen reading this to write to his MP, with a copy to the press and the chairman of the council of representative as well as the chairman of the Shura Council telling them that you do not agree with their decisions and their performance so far. They cannot throw you in prison for this. It is our duty to make our voices heard not just on a blog, or the GDN, we need to address the MPs themselves. They claim to represent us, let them now hear us roar, not whimper.
We also need to know exactly who is who in every committee they have set up, and address our letters to the heads of committees as well.
I will be working on online petitions against the demonstrations act, against the current press laws and the way that the Islamists are hijacking the parliament. These petitions will be accessible to all, but of course only Bahrainis need to sign them, unless there is an occasion that necessitates international appeal.
It’s time to do something, because no one else is going to do it for us. If we stay silent, then we should just shut up and watch them screw this country up in a very short time indeed, and we should never complain. With our silence, we helped them dish it up.
Comments
A call to arms
IMO,
It does not matter whether the trappings of power are democracy, communism, monarchy, or theocracy. What matters is the belief amoung citizens and rulers that the government exists for the sole purpose of serving its people. That governemnt may only excercise those powers that the people grant it. That the people have the right to repeal those powers at any time. And that no government has the right to take away that which allah has given every human – the freedom of thought, the desire to choose, and the ability to speak.
Any government, whether democracy or dictator can become good or evil based upon how well it respects the freedoms that Allah (God) has given every human.
At least that’s my opinion.
A call to arms
Mahmood,
It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this. I was asked today: Is there any real freedom in Bahrain? The question was posed in Arabic. My answer was: There is no “Huriya”, there is “Harah”. I wasn’t trying to be fuuny. I was trying to be objective.
Bear with me for a while: democracy and freedom have gone through a very difficult phase. It was a difficult pregnancy from the start. Both partners (the parents) were IMPOTENT. Thay had to resort to IVF and this is the result. It was ARTIFICALLY INDUCED. As usual, there was a lot of fanfare and celebration when the Royal Court announced that SHE (Democracy) was pregnant. Everyone was betting on a BOY to carry on the legacy. Sadly, it was a dark day. It was a BABY GIRL (Freedom).
Do you know what they did? In keeping with the Jahilya tradition, they (don’t ask who!) kidnapped the infant in the middle of the night and dug a deep hole in Sakhir, where they buried that infant known as FREEDOM.
It was dead and gone before we know it. It was unannounced. The MUZZLED PRESS of Bahrain, which is suffering from ACUTE DEPRESSION, wasn’t allowed to report it.
People still don’t know that the baby is gone. That is why I am in mourning!
I am sorry to depress you with this but I am sure you already know.
Have a good day!
A call to arms
Mahmood, thank you for taking this first step. Scrutinizing our MPs is not only our right but also our responsibility,… and blogging about it is not enough.
I’ve been meaning to talk to you and others about starting something like this, but it seems like you beat me to it.
Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the former BCHR is also organizing an e-mail/phone your MP campaign specifically against the demonstration law.
But after yesterday’s drama in the Parliament I agree that it it is necessary to issue a statement telling the MPs to get their act together stop embarassing us, and to start debating REAL social and economic issues.
Let’s get a draft letter prepared so that if they want, people can just copy and paste it and send it to their MPs.
Re: A call to arms
The difference between democracy – even bad democracy – and monarchy, theocracy etc is that with the latter you are stuck with what you get. If you get a good monarch, that’s fine. But you could just as easily get a bad monarch; the point about monarchy is that birth, not merit, decides who rules. It’s a matter of luck, and if you have bad luck and a bad monarch then you’re stuck with it and the only way out is revolution.
With democracy, you can of course sometimes end up with bad leaders. But the democratic system at least limits the worst of their potential misdeeds, and you can vote them out of office.
Re: A call to arms
I’m just wondering, what specifically do the press laws say?
A call to arms
Oh, Mahmood, what are you thinking? I love your passion about the Island and know you only want the best for it, but I gotta believe you’re going to get yourself in trouble for this one. I know you are a smart guy and realize silence means things will get worse and worse, but if you are the only one raising your hand because everyone is afraid of retribution or being thrown in jail, then what good does it do? I once joked that you needed to run for office, and maybe that is the only way to protect yourself.
It does have to start somewhere, but at the moment there seems to be a crackdown on any dissent at all. Where is the King in all of this mess with people being jailed and the press being silenced? What a missed chance.
A call to arms
Bravo, Mahmood! That’s the way to do it…stand up for what you believe in, and then rear back and KICK THE BEEHIVE!
Just be sure that you and your fellow kickers are wearing thick clothing at the time! 🙂
With a little luck (and probably a lot of sweat) Bahrain will truly enter the modern world thanks to people like you…even if it has to be dragged, kicking and screaming. Be sure to remember that there are people in Tehran, Pyongyang and Beijing who yearn for the opportunity to do what you are doing. Fight the good fight, my friend…
Re(1): A call to arms
No one knows. From what I last heard, the infamous changes to the Press law – in the form of the Press Law of 2002 – have been suspended following objection (no pun intended) from the Press… he hehe hehe
The irony is, however, that insiders at the Ministry of DisOrientation assure me that the suspended law is being implemented to the word!!
Can anyone enlighten us more?
Power to the People (redux)
May we FREE ourselves of the TURDS that pollute the system and send them on their WAY!
Re: A call to arms
Dont’t think so. My contention is not for the ruling family nor not even the government, but with the way that our elected parliament is performing.
It is my duty and every other Bahraini citizen like me to use our democratic and constitutional right and ensure that our representative do not stray from the line, and to keep them reminded of the fact that they are working for us, not the other way around.
The best PEACEFUL way of doing this is writing them our thoughts and influence their decisions to be at par with the way they want them to go. After all, that is why we put them there in the first place.
A call to arms
“It is my duty and every other Bahraini citizen like me to use our democratic and constitutional right and ensure that our representative do not stray from the line, and to keep them reminded of the fact that they are working for us, not the other way around.
The best PEACEFUL way of doing this is writing them our thoughts and influence their decisions to be at par with the way they want them to go. After all, that is why we put them there in the first place. ”
DAMNED STRAIGHT! Mahmood, my admiration for you and people like you only continues to grow. You have the qualities that those here in America with at least with at a micron of common sense value so much–even though so many of us here unfortunately fall short in following through on those values all too often. The key is (as you no doubt know) to keep up the public pressure to the point where your officials are forced to be held accountable to the people they represent. Of course, it would help if those same officials would fully realize that they truly do represent those same people, as opposed to [i]dominating[/i] them…but hey, it’s not too much to hope is it? After all, miracles DO happen sometimes…:)
A call to arms
Those MP’s… what can I say? It’s time for our voices to be heard. Every individual on the island has his/her own mind. To allow such cavmen to impose ‘ideas’ and ‘restrictions’ would only lead me into wondering why I can’t hear any voices…
I will do everything I can to stop these animals from obtaining what they hope to obtain… I will do anything to allow REAL democacy and freedom of speech/religion to take it’s course throughout the country…
Just pray I get my law degree… lol
Great blog… I started one for myself, but I can’t seem to figure out how to use.. For example, I’d love to post link on the left hand side of my page, but I can’t seem to figure out how! Oh well…
Eid Mubarak!