Bahrain faces unrest ahead of elections

As teargas slowly dissipates into the night air, a Shia protester rails against Bahrain’s government during another bout of unrest in the Gulf kingdom.

Suddenly, police approach the gathering, nervously pointing shotguns at the demonstrators. One asks a policeman to lower his weapon, only to be punched in the chest.

The holy month of Ramadan has erupted into a nightly routine of violence in Bahrain, where the Sunni monarchy of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa rules a Shia majority.

The stability of Bahrain is of wider concern because the island hosts the headquarters of the US navy’s Fifth Fleet, serving as the hub for operations in an area stretching from the Red Sea to the Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

The rising tension comes ahead of parliamentary elections on October 23, the third such contest since King Hamad took the throne in 1999 and sought reconciliation with Shia opposition groups.

The Lower House of Bahrain’s National Assembly is freely elected, giving Shias a political voice. But Shia groups complain that democracy is a facade, with the parliament’s powers limited while the ruling Al-Khalifa family retains ultimate authority. Shia activists also charge that institutionalised discrimination has increased, with complaints that they are excluded from some jobs, notably in the security forces – important employers in one of the Gulf’s poorest nations. The number of Shia in high-ranking government positions has fallen, claims the opposition.

However, the government says democratic reforms are working. “We have a democratic system to air grievances legally, rather than burning property in the streets: let everyone work under this system in a civilised manner,” says Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, chief executive of the Economic Development Board.

Opposition sources claim that hardline government officials opposed to the parliamentary experiment are mounting a sectarian hate campaign against Shias.

Human rights activists say that about 200 people have been detained this month, including more than 20 members of non-registered political groups, notably Abduljaleel al-Singace, spokesman for Haq, which describes itself as a “movement for liberty and democracy”.

The government says that any opposition members in detention have been arrested for allegedly trying to incite violence.

“Most likely they will go to court: the public prosecution would not grant a 10- days extension and then release them – there must be sufficient evidence,” said Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, president of the information affairs authority in the capital, Manama.

However, opposition leaders fear the government’s response to the violence could alienate even more Shia from mainstream ­politics.

Mansour, a 19-year-old student, told the Financial Times he was abducted, beaten and then dumped half-naked miles from his home on August 19.

The family of Mohammed Saeed, a dentist, are still trying to locate him after he was taken by security forces on Aug 17.

Local human rights groups report abductions, beatings and disappearances as the state security forces use an anti-terrorism law passed in 2006 that allows detention for up to 45 days without charge.

The interior ministry says it will investigate and prosecute any instances of police brutality. But the gulf in perception between the Shia opposition and the government appears to be growing wider.

Opposition activists continually raise a longstanding claim, first made by a whistleblower in 2006, that the authorities are trying to alter Bahrain’s sectarian balance and erode the country’s Shia majority by granting citizenship to foreign Arab Sunnis.

Wefaq, the leading Shia group, will fight the October elections, despite pressure from its own constituents for a boycott.

Jasim Husain Ali, a Wefaq MP, fears the recent violence and the state’s response will only strengthen hardliners among the Shia.

“The king knows where we are heading,” said Mr Ali. “I hope the authorities put an end to the crackdown and start dialogue.”