The tiny island of Bahrain gained independent nation status in 1973. The former British protectorate began as a parliamentary democracy but the House of Al-Khalifa turned the country into a monarchy soon after. The island is of strategic importance due its being the location of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, the branch of the military used to police the Persian Gulf so that tankers delivering oil from the refineries of the eastern Arabian Peninsula can travel safely and freely with their valued cargoes throughout the world.  As a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Pearl Monument was built in the capital city of Manama to commemorate an important meeting of all the member nations in that location. Bahrain’s population is predominantly Shia Muslim but the reigning monarchy is Sunni, a demographic fact that has caused little tension throughout the island’s history. Over the years, political activists have staged pro-democracy demonstrations, calling for the abdication of the monarchy and a return to parliamentary democracy; many of these turned violent. The Bahrain Uprising of 2011 was the biggest and bloodiest of them all.
    By the end of 2010, political uprisings had swept across the Middle East from Tunisia to Libya, Egypt and Syria in what was to become known of as the Arab Spring. Taking this as a cue, young activists in Bahrain began using social media platforms to call for demonstrations in Bahrain as well. On February 14, 2011 demonstrations took place throughout Manama in various locations. The crowds were mixtures of Sunni and Shia activists who all saw the cause of political freedom to be in everybody’s best interest regardless of their sect, race, gender or age and the protests were planned to be non-violent events.  The police responded quickly and fiercely with tear gas and rubber bullets. One demonstrator was killed. The next day, protesters showed up to the assassinated youth’s funeral en mass and again the police fired into the crowd killing one and injuring many. The protesters marched to the Pearl Monument and set up tents and camps to occupy the area.
    Two days later, several thousand people had shown up at the Pearl Monument to lend their support. The police again attacked the camp and chased them away, this time killing four more people and wounding more than 200. From then on the protesting crowds swelled to bigger and bigger sizes, sometimes drawing 40% of the entire nation’s population to the streets of Manama to call for a constitutional monarchy. Hardline activists began to agitate for regicide, calling out “Death to King Hamad” as they marched. The Bahraini media started spreading rumors that Iran was infiltrating the activist organizations in order to start a Shia uprising in the Gulf region. Fearing the spread of the movement from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia’s majority-Shia Eastern Province, they also began to perpetuate the unfounded claim. Soon mobs of Sunni pro-government fighters began confronting the young revolutionaries; mob violence and riots ensued.
    By mid-March, the country was well out of control. King Hamad declared a three month state of emergency. At the monarch’s request, 2000 Saudi Arabian troops drove tanks and trucks across the King Fahd Causeway that joins Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by 500 police sent by the United Arab Emirates. The activists were quick to call this an invasion and an occupation but King Hamad was more than happy to have the Saudis and Emiratis there. Though the activists continued to hold peaceful, non-violent demonstrations, the occupying troops continued to kill and arrest them. Sweeping mass imprisonments  were made and jails overflowed with people, some who had done little more than express support for the uprising on the internet. By the end of the month, Bahraini troops had torn down the Pearl Monument and blocked off the area to prevent demonstrators from returning. During the nights, the Saudi troops prowled the country, burning down Shia mosques, one of which was over 400 years old and destined to become a UNESCO World Heritage sight. During one of the worst days of rioting, the troops seized a hospital and beat doctors and nurses who attempted to treat anybody who had been wounded during the protests; finally they surrounded the hospital and fought back any one trying to enter for the sake of having their wounds treated.
    The riots in Manama began to die down and demonstrations started to be more often held in smaller villages around the country. Eventually, the military put these down as well. Other than a couple bombings, one of which was done using a Formula 1 race car, political disturbances were reduced to a minimum. Finally the royal family held a conference for the sake of opening a dialogue with the citizens about how to reform the system but it was largely seen as a joke since very few activists and human rights agitators were invited to attend. The meeting was thought of as nothing more than a cosmetic distraction. Now that many protesters have been executed, murdered, deported, disappeared, or imprisoned for life, the Bahrain Uprising can now be seen as another attempt at fighting for human dignity and freedom that failed.
Matthiesen, Toby. Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring that Wasn’t. Stanford University Press, 2013.