POMED Notes: Maryam al-Khawaja – An Update on Bahrain

On Monday Partners for Democratic Change hosted the Society for International Development, Washington’s Middle East Workgroup for a monthly brown bag lunch entitled “An Update from Bahrain with Bahraini Human Rights Activist, Maryam al-Khawaja.” Monalisa Salib, Senior Manager, Partners for Democratic Change opened the event. Cole Bockenfeld, Advocacy Director for the Project on Middle East Democracy provided background information on events in Bahrain and introduced Maryam al-Khawaja.

Notes on the event are located below the break, or can be accessed in PDF form here

On Monday Partners for Democratic Change hosted the Society for International Development, Washington’s Middle East Workgroup for a monthly brown bag lunch entitled “An Update from Bahrain with Bahraini Human Rights Activist, Maryam al-Khawaja.” Monalisa Salib, Senior Manager, Partners for Democratic Change opened the event. Cole Bockenfeld, Advocacy Director for the Project on Middle East Democracy provided background information on events in Bahrain and introduced Maryam al-Khawaja.

Al-Khawaja is the Director of External Relations for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and a former Fulbright Scholar at Brown University. Al-Khawaja was present during the beginning of the February 14th uprising, as protesters demanded democratic reforms, and witnessed a government response that included excessive use of force, widespread arrest, discrimination, and scare tactics to suppress dissent and quell voices for reform. She is also the daughter of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, the founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, who was among a group of high-profile human rights activists and opposition leaders recently sentenced to life imprisonment. Although she left Bahrain in early March and has not been able to go back in order to avoid arrest and/or imprisonment, she remains very connected to events on the ground as an advocate and has emerged as a leading voice for human rights.  She has been influential in shaping official responses to the atrocities in Bahrain around the world by engaging with prominent European and American policymakers in her advocacy efforts.

Maryam al-Khawaja began her remarks discussing the deep roots of the protests that are currently taking place. There have been anti-government protests in Bahrain occurring nearly every 10 years, for the past century. The current protests began on February 14 and eventually included 250,000 – 300,000 protesters out of a nation of 500,000 citizens. These protests were started by youth, which is different than any other previous protests usually started by political or religious leaders, yet the government’s response has been the same every time. On March 15, after days of the Bahraini security forces violently repressing the protests, the regime invited Saudi Arabian/Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) forces into Bahrain. Al-Khawaja described systematic mass human rights violations including torture, imprisonment, attacks on homes while people are sleeping, and teargas being shot into homes.

She described the Bahraini regime as obsessed with their international image, unlike many other regimes in the region. Al-Khawaja noted the Bahraini government will pay for delegates from Bahrain to travel to Europe and America in an attempt to positively influence the image of Bahrain. However, she noted that the international pressure resulting from the crackdowns has encouraged Bahrain to open two dialogues in the hopes of settling the protests issue. The first dialogue, called the National Dialogue, is severely flawed according to al-Khawaja. She noted the King called for the dialogue and it is headed by the speaker of the Parliament, Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani, who holds no effective power. The lack of powerful leadership, the inclusion of internationally known torturer Adel Flaifel, and that only 25 out of the 300 seats are allocated to opposition parties all delegitimize the dialogue.

Al-Khawaja was however hopeful about the second commission, the Royally Appointed Independent Fact Finding Commission. She regrets that the commission is not a U.N. commission but believes the internationally recognized members of the commission are legitimate enough to withdraw if they are being limited in their investigation. She is worried however, that the Commission might provide the royal family a few scapegoats who will be sacrificed in the name of regime preservation.

Al-Khawaja is not optimistic about the overall chances for a more inclusive Bahrain because of numerous previously unfulfilled promises. She cited promises to rebuild demolished Shi’a mosques, the announcement that thousands of fired workers will be reinstated, the announcement that hundreds of students suspended by the government would be reinstated, and the announcement of the release of political prisoners. All of these promises have not been fulfilled.

She also described the torture and killings by the Bahraini security forces. Many people are afraid to go to hospitals, after some hospitals were occupied and medical staff were attacked and are now on trial. She noted the recent death of a 47-year-old mother of two who suffocated on tear gas fired by the security forces. Four other people have died while inside prison, among numerous other deaths, injuries, tortures, and imprisonments.

Al-Khawaja is also concerned about the rising Sunni/Shi’a divide. Previously, any division was enforced by the government to keep the Shi’a marginalized. Today, because of the uprisings, the Shi’a/Sunni divide has shifted into society and is taking hold at many levels of society. She worries about increased sectarian violence both in Bahrain and in neighboring countries.

During the Q&A session, al-Khawaja discussed the issue of Iranian influence. She described the demands of the protesters as being rooted in a desire for a secular Bahraini government, not an Iranian-style government. Al-Khawaja also noted the current opportunity facing the U.S. to engage with the opposition and stem the tide of nascent anti-American sentiment within Bahrain, among both opposition and pro-government voices. She described the opposition as needing serious international support, and many wish for the U.S. to play a lead in that role. However, she also noted that absent any substantive U.S. engagement, some protesters might feel deserted, and look toward other regional actors, perhaps Iran, to gain the requisite international support. She urged the U.S. to become more outspoken in their desire for credible reform in Bahrain to prevent other regional actors from negatively influencing events in Bahrain and compromising American national interests

Al-Khawaja noted that Saudi/GCC troops still appear to be in the country, despite reports that they may have left. She described the entrance of the troops as a symptom of the incredibly vulnerable position that the Bahraini regime was in, when they requested the troops. She still believes the Bahraini government has control over the country, but with the presence of Saudi troops, it is only logical that the Saudi government would exert some influence.

She called on European and American governments to increase the pressure on the Bahraini government, if not for human rights, but because it is in European and American national interests to do so.