This Friday is the last day in "the week of disrupting the regime's economy" in Bahrain, and perhaps those who missed the chance to participate in the first day will not lose the opportunity to sabotage the economy of their own country, on the last day. The announcement about this week is present on Facebook with details. However, I could not find it there. Rather, I had received information about it from many sources, without knowing whether those who sent it to me wanted me to participate in the event, or were giving me notice of the attempts to strike at the economy of Bahrain. I wish this week were a fake story, but I do not think it is. We are now past the day in which I hoped that the Al-Wefaq group would be able to persuade the extremists in WAFA and Al-Haq to follow in its moderate footsteps. But in the end, I found that it was Al-Wefaq that followed in the footsteps of the extremists and their radicalism that has gone beyond all logic, ethics and patriotism. Nevertheless, I hope that Al-Wefaq is innocent of any plan to strike at the economy of Bahrain, i.e. the entire people and their daily livelihoods. If the economy goes down, this affects the poor before the rich, who always have assets to shield themselves. What encourages me to expect a better conduct by Al-Wefaq is the document issued by five Bahraini opposition groups, led by Al-Wefaq, paving the way for a political breakthrough should good faith indeed be present. What matter are actions, not flowery deeds. The first day of the week, i.e. Saturday 8/10/2011, included a plan for “the establishment of an idea bank for the sabotage and disruption of the regime's economy on Facebook”. The text is in Arabic, but it was written by an Iranian pen. What is meant of course is not the part that said "disrupting the economy of Bahrain on Facebook"” but the one about “Opening a page for an idea bank on Facebook for the sabotage and disruption of the regime's economy”. For the benefit of the Arab readers, I add that " the sabotage and disruption of the regime's economy” is wrong, and it should have been “the sabotage of the regime's economy and its disruption” [i.e. the order of words in Arabic is wrong], but the explanation for this is long and off topic. The topic, or issue, here is that there are Bahrainis who want to sabotage the economy of their own country, or in other words, hurt their countrymen before hurting the regime. Today, Friday, they will attempt to "siege and abort the Arab Jewelry Exhibition in Bahrain". Again, linguistically speaking, it is more correct to say the siege of the exhibition and its abortion. I therefore think it likely that those are tied to the same Iran being accused of supporting terrorism, as we have seen in recent charges made by the Americans against Iran which included names. I had resolved not to go back to writing about Bahrain, after I received messages attacking the Shiites, a stance that I condemn and reject to be party to, and other messages turning everything I wrote upside down, in a manner that cannot possibly be innocent. What I said in the beginning, and each time after that, is that the opposition in Bahrain has legitimate demands. I urged it to negotiate with a view to achieve what is possible of its demands, and then negotiate over other demands as soon as possible after that. However, the Al-Wefaq group in particular - and I do not recognize any other political opposition in Bahrain - chose to seek the achievement of its demands through boycott. Therefore, It achieved nothing and its seats in the Parliament were bequeathed to others. I continued to insist that the demands are legitimate, but added that Al-Wefaq's approach to realizing them was wrong and its failure proven. However, the zealots chose to ignore the basic point in my support for legitimate demands and my insistence on the need to achieve whatever is possible of them, instead focusing on defending the approach I criticized despite its failure. Failure is rife when we speak of the stances of the opposition in Bahrain. For instance, I read what some dissenters wrote, in their quest for foreign protection. They even expect an American position in support of their cause. I want those to name one American position that has served any cause for the Arabs and Muslims? Is it the occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and the murder of one million Muslims? Or is it the permanent stance that is biased in favor of Israel against the Palestinians? Or is it the stance on Iran and the insistence on preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons, even when Israel has a full nuclear arsenal? Were the Americans the ones behind the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, or did they ride the wave there? Did the advocates of American intervention hear Barack Obama's speech in the Security Council, and were encouraged by his reference to Al-Wefaq, while ignoring his absolute condemnation of Iran? His speech this year was the opposite of the one he gave last year from the same rostrum in the same month, and so perhaps his speech next year will be the opposite of both. Some of those whose opinions I read and who called for an American role and protection were doctors who were sentenced to 15 years in prison each. A doctor is supposed to be highly intelligent, and they must be so in their work, but when it comes to politics, it seems that they are foolish and naive. While those sentences may have pushed them to lose all sense, I am willing to bet them all (a gentleman's bet not over money) that none of them will serve that 15 year prison sentence. King Hamad bin Issa will pardon them. In his twelve years in office, the king has issued a few dozen pardons, with an average of a pardon and a half each year. Wake up, people, open your eyes, clear the mist away from them. You will not topple the regime. This is something I am prepared to make a bet on as well. You can live with the regime, and you can achieve through negotiations what you cannot achieve through boycotts, no matter what the agents of Iran and its clerics pretend. Not all those who oppose you or object to your methods are your enemies or are supporters of the regime. They may be just giving you advice out of sheer compassion. [email protected]
