Trouble in Bahrain

opinion guy · 17-02-2011 08:01PM #1

I'm somewhat stunned to see the lack of media coverage of the events in Bahrain compared to Egypt (there isn't even a thread on boards about this!!!)

Its seems to have been a shockingly violent night last night.
The Guardian seems to be doing a better job covering it than most:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/17/bahrain-security-forces-sunni-foreign

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/feb/17/bahrain-crisis-middle-east-protests-live-blog?intcmp=239

If the reporting isn't quite bringing the violence home to you, photos have been posted on facebook - WARNING THESE ARE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING PICTURES - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100002079733404&aid=6066

I don't know why the TV channels do not seem to be reporting that some poor guy got his head blown off.

Aside: i know this is AH, but before you make off the cuff wisecracks look at the shocking photos and show some respect - if you don't want to see some horrendous stuff then don't crack wise please

Edit: Any boardsies on the ground out there ?

AckwelFoley · 17-02-2011 08:03PM

8 or so picks of one mans face blown to bits, id say one would have been enough to get the idea

Ghost Estate · 17-02-2011 08:03PM

opinion guy wrote: »

If the reporting isn't quite bringing the violence home to you, photos have been posted on facebook - WARNING THESE ARE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING PICTURES - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100002079733404&aid=6066

are they on any other site? i'm not on Faecesbook

edit: nvm i dont need to see em

admiralofthefleet · 17-02-2011 08:03PM

i sincerely hope tom dunne and lucy lu are ok

opinion guy · 17-02-2011 08:04PM

snyper wrote: »

8 or so picks of one mans face blown to bits, id say one would have been enough to get the idea

Not my pics I have no control over that.

Ghost Estate wrote: »

are they on any other site? i'm not on Faecesbook

edit: nvm i dont need to see em

I don't know to be honest - got the link from the guardian blog

Pauleta · 17-02-2011 08:05PM

Egypt are the biggest arab nation. Bahrain are a small country. I really hope the Formula 1 teams boycott Bahrain in the GP next month.

Ev84 · 17-02-2011 08:18PM

Ghost Estate wrote: »

i'm not on Faecesbook

"faecesbook"........ that book is a load of s**t!

smk89 · 17-02-2011 08:23PM

Ghost Estate wrote: »

are they on any other site? i'm not on Faecesbook

edit: nvm i dont need to see em

Independent thought detected. A facebook assimilation van has been dispatched to your location

wes · 17-02-2011 11:27PM

Not sure about TV news (not watched it today), but read about it on the Al Jazeera website and BBC, where its the top story.

Jimmy the Wheel · 17-02-2011 11:31PM

I'm Iraqing my Bahrain for a good pun, but can't think of any decent ones.

pablomakaveli · 17-02-2011 11:31PM

There has been some coverage of the events in Bahrain. I've seen it mentioned on the news the last few days. Though i've heard more about what's going on in Libya and Iran then Bahrain.

Killer Pigeon · 17-02-2011 11:32PM

Bah-what-y-now?

I had to wiki it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain

mrDerek · 17-02-2011 11:34PM

why are all these mad countries protesting these days?

partyatmygaff · 17-02-2011 11:34PM

Libya tried to get some protests going but Colonel Gadaffi managed to dispel them. Not using brute force but by distracting them by opening a new football stadium.

As for Bahrain things seem to be heating up but I don't think they'll be able to pull it off the same way Egypt did. There simply aren't enough people protesting and considering the population is so small they'll need something along the lines of a Military coup d'état to overthrow the king.

Nodin · 18-02-2011 05:22PM

Bahraini security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters, witnesses and opposition activists say.
The protesters were fired on after they had streamed towards Pearl Square, the centre of recent unrest, from the funerals of protesters killed in a security crackdown earlier this week.
Witnesses said the army fired weaponry and tear gas, and hospital officials said at least 20 people had been hurt.
Many of the protesters are calling for the overthrow of the royal family.
Bahrain's crown prince promised on Friday to start a national dialogue once calm has been restored, according to AFP news agency.

Witnesses told AP news agency that soldiers had fired anti-aircraft guns over the heads of the protesters, as well as tear gas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12509658

Seems to be getting worse.

Apparently its a Shia majority country, run by a Sunni monarchy. ( I thought all the small Gulf states were majority Sunnis of one shape or another, which shows what I know...)

jkforde · 18-02-2011 05:34PM

email them and fax them....

Bahrain Embassy, London
Fax: 00442072019183
Email: information@bahrainembassy.co.uk

[mods, this info is freely openly available]

prinz · 18-02-2011 05:39PM

It's becoming yesterday's news unfortunately, which will allow these protests to be violently put down. If you had had Sky etc reporting from the ground from that roundabout in Bahrain they wouldn't have done the same thing. If these scumbags knew that the eyes of the world were on them they would hopefully show more restraint. The news networks are basically revelling in the 'successes' of Tunisia and Egypt (especially CNN earlier in the week) while fledgling protest movements in other countries still needed the exposure.

When the uprisings start getting knocked off the front page the public interest dwindles and the people out there suffer.

Edit: That said there are a few oddballs out there who you really couldn't see doing a better job in charge.

Corsendonk · 18-02-2011 06:45PM

Nodin wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12509658

Seems to be getting worse.

Apparently its a Shia majority country, run by a Sunni monarchy. ( I thought all the small Gulf states were majority Sunnis of one shape or another, which shows what I know...)

C4 had a report on the country 5-6 years ago how the Sunni ruling minority basically treated the shia majority as crap. The usual secret police and car battery tricks used to keep them in order but because Bahrain was rich the West ignored little blips like that. I wouldn't be surprised if the Saudi step in with military forces, no way would they want a shia run state replacing Bahrain.

darragh16 · 18-02-2011 06:48PM

Pauleta wrote: »

Egypt are the biggest arab nation. Bahrain are a small country. I really hope the Formula 1 teams boycott Bahrain in the GP next month.

I can't see the race going ahead at this rate. They already cancelled the GP2 race this weekend

Up-n-atom! · 18-02-2011 07:35PM

I think it's getting a bit more coverage today. Should be interesting to see how it turns out - it's a bit of more liberal playground for the Saudis like some of the other smaller gulf states, so I'm guessing they might step in. Al Jazerra might also not want to stoke the flames in their own back yard with their coverage (I read about that somewhere but I don't know what they are and aren't reporting coz I haven't watched it over the last couple of days). I'm guessing the couple of grand that was supposed be offered to the citizens to quell the unrest didn't work.

Morag · 18-02-2011 07:49PM

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

i sincerely hope tom dunne and lucy lu are ok

They have been in touch with people, they are not were the 'disturbances' are but the net is being throttled and the government under the king are trying to keep as much news as possible from getting out.

bop1977 · 18-02-2011 08:22PM

Sharrow wrote: »

They have been in touch with people, they are not were the 'disturbances' are but the net is being throttled and the government under the king are trying to keep as much news as possible from getting out.

I was texting Lucy today and as above they are safe and away from the trouble.

nosey rosie · 18-02-2011 09:09PM

What bothers me is... I had little idea Egypt was a corrupt dictatorship for nearly 40 years, incidentally funded by the U.S. - until this latest development. Now seemingly other Arab nations... are rebelling in similar ways. News programmes just hadn't covered this topic, yet its a big story.
Makes me distrust the normal news channels

strobe · 18-02-2011 09:13PM

prinz wrote: »

It's becoming yesterday's news unfortunately, which will allow these protests to be violently put down.

I'm not so sure Prinz. The number of people coming out on the street to protest in Bahrain is going up with the increase in state attacks on them, not down.

The people of Tunisia have a lot to be proud of right now.

Mister men · 18-02-2011 09:31PM

It's make or break at the moment. If the worlds media turn the other cheek they will get slaughted in a big way.

opinion guy · 19-02-2011 04:14PM

nosey rosie wrote: »

What bothers me is... I had little idea Egypt was a corrupt dictatorship for nearly 40 years, incidentally funded by the U.S. - until this latest development. Now seemingly other Arab nations... are rebelling in similar ways. News programmes just hadn't covered this topic, yet its a big story.
Makes me distrust the normal news channels

Eh many of the oil producing arab nations are like that. Saudi Arabia is the big one really. Serious carnage if it kicks off there - which is probably why the Bahrainis are reacting so violently.

Revealing article well worth reading:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/robert-fisk-in-bahrain-they-didnt-run-away-they-faced-the-bullets-headon-2219267.html

Cathaoirleach · 20-02-2011 08:26PM

Not much interest in this thread then?

Protestors are getting shot by snipers in Bahrain and Libya. This is worse than Egypt.

The following image comes with a warning.

http://i.imgur.com/9ppzU.jpg

BASHIR · 20-02-2011 08:47PM

It is very disturbing, these countries are being run by dictators and they have lots of support from people with government jobs, its the people struggling day to day who are uprising against their treatment, the lack of food money everything really. There are reports that in Libya that paid mercenaries are been flown in to 'deal' with the protests. That fact is that the restrictions on the media is so severe that these types of reports are hard to verify thus most media organisations wont release this information without it.

partyatmygaff · 20-02-2011 08:56PM

Libya and Bahrain are dealing with this far more violently than Egypt. The military in Egypt would never ever fire on its own people like that. The sooner Muammar and the Bahraini king are removed from their positions of power the better. They're making Mubarak look tame.

pavb2 · 20-02-2011 08:57PM

I know internet etc has changed things but what has triggered this domino effect, same as regimes falling in Eastern Europe in 80's? Is it just the success of Egypt and Tunisia in getting rid of govt? Why now and why so many?

nacho libre · 20-02-2011 08:57PM

The good old Colonel is a friend to the west now so the criticism must be measured, lest he tear up the lucrative contracts with western companies. 200 people killed for the crime of protesting in Libya 10- 15 years ago would have resulted in strident condemnation of Gadaffi.

Trouble in Bahrain

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