The Arab Agenda

Chapter 14

The nation had divided

With and since the return of the protests on the 19th February 2011, to the GCC roundabout, the "Youth of 14th February" conducted many events including rallies and temporary road blocks.

One of these rallies created a siege event, cordoning of important intersections around the capital by a long chain of cars, bringing traffic to a complete standstill. The timing of this event was chosen to take place with the end of each working day. They set people next to each intersection forcing everyone to stop while allowing their own cars to pass through red lights.

On that day, people had to wait for hours in their cars for this event to end, until they could finally get back home. It was an abuse of everyone's right to use the roads. It didn't help calming the situation, citizens and expats found themselves paying a very hefty price, because they did not share the interests or the protesters demands.

All of the "Youth of 14th February" events contributed to the escalation of the sectarian division in Bahrain and threatened the national security of the country. With the absence of police forces from the streets the country was at an emotional raging high.

Al Wefaq Society on the other had did not disagree or try to guide "Youth of 14th February" to calm the situation, but instead they had their own rallies all over the capital targeting government buildings disrupting other citizens from going to work or finishing their common legal duties and documents.

Even though Al Wefaq rallies raised banners saying Sunni & Shi'a were united, many attending their rallies raised banners calling for the fall of the monarchy and others insulted Sunni citizens.

Al Wefaq rallies were very well known in Bahrain by this time since those directly behind the oppositions leaders were holding up Hezbollah's flags (later on these flags would not be used).

Many rallies were photographed and videotaped showing that they were carrying Hezbollah's and Iran's flags, as well as pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, Khomeini, and other Shiite religious leaders, which increased the sectarian division in Bahrain.

This situation had become very alarming to the Bahrain government. Hezbollah is globally recognized as a terrorist organization, well-known for violence, setting booby traps and promoting gang wars.

Ali Salman the opposition leader is well known to have a close intimate relation with Hassan Nasrallah the Hezbollah leader.

But It didn't stop here, another irresponsible sectarian behavior in the rallies held were holding up a Bahraini flag with twelve triangles rather than the Bahrain flag of five triangles. The original Bahrain flag had eight triangles and when Bahrain became a Kingdom it changed it to five triangles as a representative of the five basic pillars of the Islamic faith, of which is the base of any Muslim faith whether Sunni or Shiite.

Many protesters with Al Wefaq's blessing decided to raise flags with twelve triangles representing the Shiite personal faith. Those images hit the citizens as a lightning strike showing a message of pure discrimination in the nature.

In the meantime, Iranian media and Hezbollah's media were supporting everything that was going on in Bahrain, and people felt unsafe when the Iranian leader Khomeini tied Bahrain's events with religion and ordered the protesters not to back off.

The government couldn't interfere due to the attack on Bahrain by the international media at that time. Falsified news articles and fabricated human rights reports were pushed through the media that was only broadcasting the viewpoint of the anti-government opposition.