Two
foreign workers were killed during a series of bomb explosions in Bahrain’s
capital of Manama on Monday. Officials are claiming that the perpetrators were
terrorists, and several suspects have been identified. The bombs resulted from
a 21-month-long pro-democracy uprising. Protestors of this uprising are seeking
broader political freedom from the Sunni monarchy. They are also seeking an end
to the Sunni monarchy’s discrimination against the Shiite majority. A few days
before the bombings, the monarchy received international condemnation for
banning protests. This past Friday, Bahraini authorities arrested a Bahraini human
rights activist whose job was to monitor protests. He was charged with illegal
gatherings and unauthorized protests.
The
deaths of foreign workers in Bahrain draw even more unwanted and critical attention
to the Sunni monarchy. Its international spotlight may be greatly unwanted by
the monarchy, but this new attention may greatly encourage protestors who are
advocating for change in the government of their country. Bahraini protestors
are advocating for democracy. Since many countries like to freely offer support
for democratic uprisings in undemocratic countries, this spotlight may become a
great advantage to the pro-democracy activists. Bahrain is one of a number of
Middle Eastern countries to ban protests. Many of these bans have led to
violence on civilians in the form of terrorist attacks. It is unfortunate that
many governments oppress their citizens, because many governments throughout
history (and especially recently) have learned that this can speed up and
increase violence tremendously. The deaths of these two foreign workers are
prime examples of this.
"Bombs in Bahrain's Capital Kill 2 Foreigners"
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