Analyst's note: This is a message sent out by a chap who works for BAPCO (Bahrain Petroleum Company) and it says what a lot of us think and believe. From the beginning of this saga he has said over and over again that the media have not given a balanced view as the pro-government supporters who are very great in numbers as well.
"At the end of the day if the Crown Price, who is excellent, goes then in my view it will be a lost cause.
The shops and malls are all open, businesses are operating and most people are turning up to work.
Nevertheless, some bad events have taken place and some people have been killed, and it will be quite a while before the country gets back to a new “normal” situation. Most importantly, the situation is not nearly as bad as is being presented in the media, and there is hope that wiser heads are now prevailing.
There are many aspects as to what has, and is happening, and how we and others feel, but it’s not really feasible to put everything into a short message. So we’ve made a “few” notes below to summarise the situation and to put it into perspective from our viewpoint.
One of the main lessons which has been proven yet again, is that we, and everyone else, must not believe everything that we see and hear in the media, and especially the international media. The other main lesson is that everyone has different opinions on exactly what is going on, or just happened, but in the end no one really knows for sure - there are many views and rumours circulating, as you might expect.
The most important point is that Bahrain is not Tunisia, not Egypt, not The Yemen and not Libya. The international media e.g. BBC, ****** Good Point! SkyNews, CNN and Al Jazira, are presenting sensationalised and biased reports that for the most part misrepresent the situation, even to the point of calling the Pearl Roundabout the “Pearl Square”, as if by doing so it becomes the same as Tahrir Square in Cairo and Tiananmen Square In Beijing.
There was going to be a general strike yesterday but the Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions called it off, saying that the military had moved out of the Pearl Roundabout area. However, Bapco Trade Union did call for a strike of the day shift workers, so the refinery was down on numbers to a certain extent. It was reported that workers from Alba, the giant aluminium company, did go to the Pearl Roundabout in the afternoon (after work) - whether this could be called a strike is not clear. Anyway, almost everyone is back at work today, although some teachers have decided to strike - however, 120 retired teachers of all religions have offered to work for free and take over.
Bahrain is far ahead of every other Gulf state and Middle East country in terms of government (we do have a parliament elected by the people and the Shura Council (Upper House) which is by appointment), a ******True good and free medical system, a good and free education system including universities, free press, freedom of expression within reason, free electricity and sweet water, heavily subsidised fuel, food and other goods, free and subsidised housing for many people, a far more open and transparent system for business than in many other countries, strict monetary laws which have attracted many banks to set up regional offices here, and the lowest unemployment rate in the region. Nevertheless, the country is certainly not without its problems, deficiencies and detracting features. The point is that the people are far better off than in the other countries mentioned above.
The Bahraini population is about 680,000 people of which 60 to 70% are Shiite and 30 to 40% are Sunni. The ruling family is Sunni and they have been in power for about 200 years. There have been and continue to be protests, mainly by the Shiites but not exclusively. Initially the Al Wefac Bloc which is the main Shiite group elected to parliament, went out of their way to say that they do not want to get rid of the king and the ruling family - they wanted more participation in government. However the objectives keep changing and after the people were killed a wider set of demands for change have been presented, a few of which have been agreed.
In contrast to other countries in the region, the protests do not constitute a nationwide uprising against the ruling family, which the media are portraying. The protests are by particular groups of varying sizes. The initial large gathering at the Pearl Roundabout was attended by, maybe 5,000 to 10,000 people at most, but no one really knows. These events were telecast by the overseas television “news” services. In contrast, the pro-government rallies which happened last Wednesday night were not covered at all and even the big rally last Friday, which was attended by many tens of thousands of people were not mentioned.
Last night there was a National Unity rally, which was seems to have been attended by the “silent majority”. Some colleagues from Bapco who went thought that perhaps it was attended by 100,000 to 150,000 people, and although the local paper said 300,000 - who knows, but there was a lot of people, far more than the “anti-government” groups. The speech that was given by a leading and respected cleric, was apparently balanced and didn’t shirk from criticising the government, and even saying that certain ministers must go. There was also a call for all political prisoners to be released, and it was reported this morning, that they were indeed released. However, the over-riding messages were that the Bahrain people must unite and work together for the good of the nation and that there must change but not radical change. According to our friends who still watch the international news, none of this was reported. Libya is now the centre of attention, with the earthquake in Christchurch getting a bit of a look in. Friends told us that today Bahrain was hardly mentioned, which really does highlight the fickleness, shallowness and hypocrisy of the media. However, this may change tomorrow, depending on tonight’s events.
Tonight there will be another rally, or should that be called a protest, demanding changes to the government, so we expect that this ******Watch this space! one will make it on the news. We’ve heard that people are starting to talk about unity as well, but again, no one knows what will happen.
Throughout all this turmoil, the international media have been absolutely disgusting in their one-sided reporting and their misrepresentation of what is actually happening. There has been just one sensational report after another by reporters, some of whom are not even in Bahrain but nevertheless claiming first-hand knowledge. These people are determined to create a dramatic, sensational story for their own self-glorification and advancement. All expats are disgusted with the media, and especially with the SkyNews reporter who said that Bahraini women taking part in a funeral procession was extremely unusual and showed how serious the situation was because “women are kept under lock and key, repressed, forced to wear abayas and cover their bodies from head to toe”, or words to that effect **** Bahraini women work, drive and wear abaya (mainly the Shia) or western dress. Even when the female reporter said as much to one of Bahraini ladies, who refuted her claims entirely, she was not phased ihn the slightest, but continued as if the Bahraini lady hadn’t said anything. This is certainly not objective, fair, factual and informative reporting.
There has even been some suggestion that when the media didn’t have footage, they used film from other places like Iraq - who knows.
As you can see, we like everyone else, are taking things day by day. However, we all fervently hope, for the sake of the people and the nation, that talks do start between the government and the people who want change - and there are many groups now who want to be involved - and that eventually calm is restored. This will probably take a long time, and again, everyone hopes that any changes will be effective and gradual - radical changes must be avoided to ensure success and that Bahrain does not follow the example of Egypt where there is no leadership, no direction, no real improvement for the people, and no national income now that tourism has dried up completely. ***** Egypt is not doing so well now but time will tell"
