Unrest in US ally Bahrain takes a more violent turn

After a year of civil unrest in Bahrain that has left scores of people dead and pitted neighbor against neighbor, street protests this week in Manama underscored fears that the country's internal divide is entering a more violent phase that could make reconciliation all but impossible in the foreseeable future.

Many analysts like Kristian Coates-Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the London School of Economics, say there are serious concerns that the situation could become a frozen conflict, with all sides withdrawing deeper into hard-line positions.

“There’s a danger that the polarization of Bahraini society has torn out the middle ground and it’s also destroying social fabric,” says Mr. Coates-Ulrichsen.

Slow political reform and continual raids on opposition communities by security forces have already led some antigovernment activists to abandon peaceful demonstrations for more violent, underground action.

Dozens of police officers were injured and several hospitalized in the run-up to the Feb. 14 anniversary of Bahrain's uprising, after angry youths pelted them with stones, metal projectiles, and Molotov cocktails.

Many frustrated young people have vowed to continue carrying out similar attacks.

“Our sisters are getting raped, our brothers are getting killed, and our fathers are in prison getting humiliated and beaten to death," said a 15-year-old Bahraini who admitted to resorting to violence, but wished to remain anonymous for security reasons. “Riot police are shooting us in our homes with teargas while we are sleeping. We don’t have an army, we don’t have guns to defend ourselves, but we have Molotov [cocktails].”

There is also a growing push from some Sunni leaders to use more extreme measures. After the beginning of the crisis last year, a political Sunni coalition formed to counter Shiite rhetoric. Some hard-liners in the group have since called on the government to use additional force to control opposition protesters, whom they identify as “traitors.”

Indirect talks last week

Bahrain’s major opposition groups have condemned the spike in violence. But Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of the main Shiite party al-Wefaq, says the shift in sentiment is hardly surprising.

“This is because the government didn’t listen to its people and used a lot of force,” he says. “The cocktails were used just in the last month. All the 11 months before there was nothing.”

Shiite Muslims, who represent about 70 percent of the population, make up the majority of opposition supporters in Bahrain. They say they are marginalized by their Sunni leaders and have been calling for more rights and a more representative government.

Last week, an al-Wefaq representative met with the ruling family to present a list of demands from a coalition of five opposition parties. The list, known as the Manama Document and first introduced last fall, calls for an elected parliament that has actual power, equal voting districts that are not skewed to favor government supporters, independent judges, and an end to discrimination against the Shiite majority.

Concern about police abuse of women

Shiites also complain of weekly attacks on their villages by security forces, who they say use teargas indiscriminately.

Violent retaliation against the police began to intensify last month after Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim told his supporters to “crush” any officer who was seen abusing women.

The call came after several females complained of being sexually harassed by authorities.

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