2011 Bahraini uprising

2011 Bahraini uprising, sometimes called the Lulu Revolution, is a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of civil resistance, in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain. As part of the revolutionary wave of protests dubbed the Arab Spring, the Bahraini protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and equality for the majority Shia population, and expanded to a call to end the monarchy of King Hamad following a deadly night raid on 17 February against protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama.

Protesters in Manama camped out for days at the Pearl Roundabout, which functioned as the centre point of protests there. After a month, the government requested troops and police from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which arrived on 14 March, and a day later, the king of Bahrain declared martial law and a three-month state of emergency. The following day, security forces violently confronted protesters at the Pearl Roundabout, drawing international condemnation.

The police response has been described as a "brutal" crackdown on protestors, including doctors and bloggers, many (though not all) of them unarmed and peaceful. The police carried out midnight house raids in Shia neighbourhoods, beatings at checkpoints, and denial of medical care in a campaign of intimidation. The state has demolished several Shia mosques that have been central points for anti-government activists. In response, protestors vowed to hold hunger strikes. More than 800 people have been arrested, and at least four people have been returned dead after being detained in custody.

Thousands of Shia protesters arose in Iraq and Qatif, Saudi Arabia, in opposition to the Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain. The Gulf Co-operation Council and the Saudi government have defended the action as necessary to restore stability and security in the country.

Overview

The date 14 February 2011 was chosen because it was the tenth anniversary of a referendum in favour of the National Action Charter of Bahrain. Bahraini youths described their plans as an appeal for Bahrainis "to take to the streets on Monday 14 February in a peaceful and orderly manner" in order to rewrite the constitution and to establish a body with a "full popular mandate to investigate and hold to account economic, political and social violations, including stolen public wealth, political naturalisation, arrests, torture and other oppressive security measures, and institutional and economic corruption." They referred to the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt as motivations for their appeal. Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, which won a plurality in the recent parliamentary election, participated in the planning for demonstrations on 14 February. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights described authorities' preparations for the 14 February planned demonstrations as "a state of confusion, apprehension and anticipation". On 11 February, King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa ordered that 1,000 Bahraini dinars (approximately US$2,600 as of February 2011) be given to "each family" to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the National Action Charter referendum. Agence France-Presse linked the BD1,000 payments to the 14 February demonstration plans.

On 12 February, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights sent an open letter to the king, seeking to avoid a worst-case scenario by "releasing more than 450 detainees including Bahraini human rights defenders, religious figures and more than 110 children, dissolv[ing] the security apparatus and prosecuting its officials responsible for violations and to start serious dialogue with civil society and opposition groups on disputed issues. BCHR President Nabeel Rajab stated: "The dissolving of the security apparatus and the prosecution of its officials will not only distance the King from the crimes committed by this apparatus especially since 2005, such as systemic torture and the use of excessive force against peaceful protests, but will avoid the fatal mistake committed by similar apparatuses in Tunisia and Egypt revolutions which led to the loss of lives and hundreds of casualties and eventually resulted in the fall of the regimes who created these 'double edged swords.

Following the raid against the Pearl Roundabout on 17 February, some protesters started calling for an end to the monarchy.

Background

Bahrain's Shia majority has often complained of receiving poor treatment in employment, housing, and infrastructure, while Sunnis have preferential status. The Bahraini government has reportedly imported Sunnis from Pakistan and Syria in an attempt to increase the Sunni percentage. Shiite Muslims are blocked from serving in important political and military posts. Bahrain does have the National Assembly of Bahrain, a popularly elected parliament, but it is not powerful. Occasional protests have flared up since the reign of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and, as of 18 February 2011, twenty-five Shiite activists were on trial for subverting state power.

Bahrain hosts the United States Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the home of the US Fifth Fleet, and is thus crucial to US Department of Defense attempts to counter Iranian military power in the region. The Saudi Arabian government and other Gulf region governments strongly support the King of Bahrain, and Iran, a majority-Shiite nation, appears to have little influence on the protestors.

Bahrain was ranked 13th when? in the Economist Intelligence Unit Shoe-Thrower's index, which is an attempt to gauge "unrest" in Arab world countries.

An election to the parliament in 2010 was followed by controversy as well. However, the Shia-majority Al Wefaq National Islamic Society won a plurality.