Crackdown: the harsh realities of nonviolent protests in the Bahraini civil conflict.

• Author: Khawaja, Maryam Al-
• Position: Perspectives

Bahrain is one of the only countries where, four years into the "Arab Spring" upsrisings, most people continue to use peaceful methods of resistance, including technological advancements and the use of social media for mobility. Over time, political stalemate, impunity, and the closure of most avenues for peaceful dissent caused many individuals to become disenchanted with the results of these nonviolent tactics, turning instead towards more violent means of protest. Inside Bahrain, opposition groups used the people's dedication to nonviolence to better position themselves. In addition, international responses to violent strategies elsewhere in the region have led to foreign military intervention, greater political attention in international forums, and more consistent coverage in mainstream media outlets. The use of peaceful dissent also suffers from a lack of international legal protection and regulation. The lack of regulation left those suffering from grave human rights violations as a result of peaceful dissent with few avenues that could provide more protection and accountability. Through the lens of the Bahraini protests, this article analyzes how the strategy of using nonviolence to create social and political change has been undermined and almost obliterated due to the lack of international legal structures to protect peaceful protesters from their governments, as well as the double standards apparent in the response of the international community.

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The term "Arab Spring" skews our understanding of the varying events that unfolded in the region--from Tunisia to Syria--by collectivizing the varied experiences and results of the uprisings and protests under a single, blanket term. Bahrain's own developments demand that the uprising in Bahrain be read on its own terms, without removing it from the regional context that has shaped, and continues to shape, realities on the ground. The immediate response from some governments faced with uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa region, such as Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, and Syria, was to strike back with an iron fist, a methodology that only triggered more people to take to the streets. In some cases, such as Libya and Syria, the extent of violence used by the regimes pushed people to turn their initially nonviolent uprisings into armed struggles. This was a very significant development that influenced not only the situation on the ground in these countries and in the region, but also how the regional situation was regarded and dealt with in regards to international law and mechanisms. By analyzing the Bahraini uprising, its development since February 2011, and the government's retaliation as a case study, this article will argue that the lack of positive international response, coupled with active allied state support of the Bahraini regime and minor interference on behalf of the Bahraini authorities, have all severely undermined initial strategies of nonviolence. In addition, the use of peaceful dissent has suffered from a lack of international legal protection and regulation, which has left victims of the Bahraini regime with nowhere to turn to for accountability and no ability to stop the violations.

As the region was experiencing the beginning of a series of transitional junctures, the people in Bahrain were embarking on their own revolutionary path leading up to 14 February 2011, Bahrain's first "Day of Rage" protest. Bahrain was already poised for large scale uprisings due to its long history of struggle against the ruling monarchy. Starting in the 1920s, Bahrain witnessed some form of uprising almost every ten years until the 1970s. Protesters demanded civil rights and/or for the Al-Khalifa family, who had taken over and ruled Bahrain by force for more than 230 years, to step down. These uprisings have been cross-sectarian. For example, in the 1960s, an uprising was led by the National Union Committee comprised of Arab nationalists and Marxists, but it was quelled by British forces who assisted the Bahraini regime because Bahrain was then a British protectorate. (1) The most recent uprising, dubbed the intifada, took place in the 1990s and lasted for more than four years. Dozens of people were killed, some even tortured to death; many families were forced into exile, and human rights violations were rampant. To end the uprising, the new Emir promised a constitutional monarchy and a return to the 1973 constitution, which had been suspended by his late father. The people of Bahrain chose to believe him, and the intifada ended in 1999. In 2002, the new Emir reneged on his promises, unilaterally changing the constitution to grant himself unchecked powers, and declared Bahrain a kingdom and himself king.

The revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa started in Tunisia in December 2010 and inspired people in Bahrain to follow suit due to a long period of dissatisfaction with the regime, unfulfilled promises, and the return of torture and political trials. It gave people hope that, as had been the case in Tunisia and Egypt, the people's will was stronger than that of the ruling families. Hosni Mubarak stepped down in Egypt on 11 February 2011, merely three days before Bahrain's "Day of Rage" was set to take place. (2) Less than an hour after Mubarak stepped down, Hamad Isa Alkhalifa, Bahrain's monarch, announced that each family would receive 1,000 Bahraini dinars (approximately $2,600) in a desperate move to preempt the protests. (3) Much to his dismay, his attempt to pay people off caused more outrage than celebration amongst the population. The protests took place on 14 February 2011, and similar to other countries, the regime immediately responded with an excessive use of force, killing a protester on the first day. A second protester was killed the next morning during the funeral of the first protester. (4) Manama's Pearl Roundabout became known as the Pearl Square, the Tahrir Square of the Bahrain uprising, where tens of thousands of people gathered to protest. (5) Again, the Bahraini regime attempted to end the movement by the use of sheer force, attacking people sleeping at Pearl Square at dawn on 17 February 2011. (6) The reason behind the attack was to create fear so as to stop people from further protesting. (7) The result was far from what the regime had hoped for: A few days later, one of the largest protests to ever take place in Bahrain happened with more than 200,000 people marching towards Pearl Square. (8) It is important to note that the population of citizens in Bahrain is approximately 600,000 to 700,000. Per capita, this was one of the largest protests in all of the "Arab Spring" uprisings.

Protesters in Bahrain stuck to nonviolence despite the violent crackdown. The environment was such that people felt the need to take the moral high ground and respond to the violence with flowers and an escalation in their nonviolence tactics. (9) Thus, a nationwide strike started, and protesters began moving into the street off of the Pearl Roundabout in front of the financial harbor. In an attempt to quell the regime's attempts to create a...