PJ: This is a challenging test for the US: supporting the protesters by not supporting the regime without really getting involved.
Al Jazeera
Bahrain protests reach US embassy
Dozens of demonstrators gather to call on Washington to press for political reform in the Gulf state.
Dozens of Shia Muslim political activists in Bahrain have gathered outside the US embassy, one of several scenes of protest in the Gulf state, calling on Washington to press for political reforms.
Activists gathered at a fence set up in front of the embassy on Monday, chanting slogans in English and Arabic against the monarchy of Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa.
Opposition supporters claim that the US is showing less support for the movements in Bahrain than it did for the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that ousted those countries' presidents.
The AFP news agency reported that a US embassy political officer, Ludovic Hood, brought a box of doughnuts for the demonstrators as they gathered down the street from the embassy in the run-up to the rally.
"These sweets are a good gesture, but we hope it is translated into practical actions," Mohammed Hassan, who wore the white turban of a cleric, told Hood.
But Zeinab al-Khawaja, a protest organiser, told Al Jazeera that the US needed to keep its distance from events in Bahrain.
"We want America not to get involved, we can overthrow this regime," she said. "All we want is for America not to support the dictatorship in Bahrain."
Bahrain is a strategic US ally and home to the US Fifth Fleet.
Elsewhere, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported scores of protesters gathering on the main road outside the Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH).
Some of the protesters waved one dinar notes, claiming it was the amount of money that Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the prime minister, had spent when he "bought" the land for the BFH.
Bahrain has been wracked by weeks of protests by its Shia Muslim majority, which has long complained of discrimination and political persecution in the island kingdom.
The Al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain for more than 200 years, is Sunni.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/20113714294453228.html
I don't understand where the US is standing on the issue of human rights in other countries. If they can get so involved in crises in places such as Libya and Egypt, by devoting media attention to those places and giving it exposure, but when it comes to Bahrain, which has the same problem, they ignore protesters.
ReplyDeleteAnd when it comes to the doughnut gesture, I personally believe that it represents a "brush off" of the issue.
Also, I dislike how the US always promises to help countries in distress, but all it ever does is give it media exposure. They never send troops or any other forms of things that might actually help them, all they ever send is CNN reporters.
But that's just my opinion.
Right now, the U.S. just seems to be looking for a chance to validate themselves as an ally with oil-rich countries. They want to help the people of the country by toppling the 'regime', but it doesn't look like they want to actually send troops or whatnot.
ReplyDeleteThey comment and devote media attention( and Canada does this too), but seem politely disinterested, at least on Canada's part. I guess when you have your own oil sands( Athabasca sands, in Alberta, Canada), you have no reason to try and support the country for future oil production. The U.S uses 27% of the world's oil, and 12% of their oil comes from the Middle East. They are probably looking at trying to increase that number in the future.