The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago consisting of 33 islands, five
of which are inhabited. The largest of these islands are Bahrain, Muharraq, Umm
an Nasan and Sitra. Bahrain is one of the most densely populated countries in
the world, with a total landmass of 760 square kilometres.
Bahrain declared independence on 15 August 1971, following the
withdrawal of the British troops stationed on the island. HH Sheikh Isa bin
Salman Al-Khalifa acceded to the position of Emir of the State of Bahrain, a
position he held until his death in 1999.
Since the independence the Government of Bahrain (GoB) is building the
new modern Bahrain focusing on infrastructure, Education and Economy for the
welfare of the Bahraini citizens.
On 2002 HH Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa became the King after the
enacted constitution of 2002; Bahrain witnessed new era of regional leading
political reforms in parallel with economic reforms 10 years prior to the Arab
Spring waves began in Tunisia then transferred to Egypt, Libya, Syria and
Yemen.
BICI report:
“Historically,
religiously driven or sect-based movements were not the sole forms of political
activity in Bahrain.91 Indeed, for most of the 20th century,
political opposition derived from secular and nationalist forces that crossed
religious, sectarian and ethnic lines, and opposition leadership originated in
both Sunni and Shia families”
“Further factor
in the internal politics of Bahrain was the Iranian revolution of 1979. The
revolution inspired politically-active Islamic movements which sought to
emulate it in a number of countries. the Islamic revolution in Iran contributed
to a perceptible shift on the Bahraini political scene. The leftist, secular
and nationalist groups that had spearheaded the opposition to the British
presence and then led the calls for constitutional and political reform were
overtaken by Islamist movements as the leading opposition force in Bahrain. Increasingly,
religious clerics, particularly Shia scholars, became politically active and started
employing religious discourse and, in some cases, utilising places of worship
to mobilise public support for demands of social justice and political reforms”
The first major
manifestation of civil unrest in Bahrain following the Iranian revolution
occurred on 16 December 1981 when the Islamic Front for the Liberation of
Bahrain, which was established in 1979 by the Shia cleric Abdulhadi Almadrasy, attempted
to overthrow the regime by force. The GoB continues to assert that Iran
supported this failed coup d‟état financially and politically.
The political achievements began with the new constitution of 2002 and
the National Action Charter that was put to a popular
referendum on 14 and 15 February 2001 in which 192,262 of the 217,000 Bahraini
citizens who were eligible to vote took part. The result was the overwhelming
approval of the NAC with 98.4% voting in favour to be the new
social contract between the ruling family Al-Khalifa and the citizens of
Bahrain.
Some excerpts, which are provided in the National Action Charter:
“Government goals are to protect the country, to maintain national
unity and to achieve comprehensive, sustainable are protected. Development in
political, socioeconomic, cultural and other fields”
“The state ensures freedom of belief. Freedom of conscience shall
be absolute. The state maintains inviolability of houses of worship and
guarantees freedom to practice religious rites according to considered custom
of the land”
“Every citizen shall have the right to express himself orally, in
writing or in any other way of expression of personal opinion or creativity.
Under this law, freedom of scientific research, publishing, press and printing
are ensured within the scope specified by law”
These reforms followed by pardon for about 11 thousands were exiled
after the unrest in the med of 1990s due to connections with the Iranian
republic and Hezbollah in Lebanon believers of Wilayat Al-Faqih or the supreme
leader.
BICI report:
“By all accounts, the ascension to power of the current monarch, HM
King Hamad, ushered in an era of hope, with optimism that the political,
economic and social sources of discontent among Bahrainis would be addressed.
This optimism was founded on the numerous steps that the country‘s new ruler
undertook to ameliorate many of the grievances that had caused civil unrest in
Bahrain during the previous decade.118 The reforms introduced by the monarch
put Bahrain, according to a leading international think tank, at the cutting
edge of regional liberalization”
Free parliament elections were held on 2002, 2006 and 2010. The
ex-exiled opposition in Bahrain “Alwefaq” which is Hezbollah in Bahrain “HiB” boycotted
the elections of 2002 and then
participated in 2006 elections and won 17 seats out of a total of 40 seats.
While in 2010 HB won 18 seats!
During the failed coup attempt by
the “ex-exiled”! On 14 February 2011 the members of HiB resigned to embrace the
government and put more pressures on the GOB and the King along with severe
media campaign and refused the Crown Prince dialogue for a month. Ignoring the
fact that HB is not living alone in this country and can’t impose its foreign
agenda on more than 70% of population in Bahrain!
BICI report:
“According to the 2010 census, the total number of persons residing
in Bahrain is 1,234,571. Of these, 568,399 are Bahraini citizens (46%) and
666,172 are expatriates (54%). Of the total population of Bahrain, 70% are
Muslim, while the remaining 30% are Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish or followers
of other faiths”
Parts from HiB conditions for
dialogue were as follows:
1. Dismissal of the government and
the formation of a government elected by the people
2. Cancellation of the 2002
Constitution and all laws passed by decree
3. The formation of a national
body of ten elected members by the people to formulate a new constitution that
abolishes all the king’s powers and that he be a symbol of the country and that
legislative and regulatory powers are fully in the hands of an elected council
(parliament).
4. Cancellation of all boards and
councils immediately and ensure that all executive agencies are subject to the
elected government
5. Abolition of the powers of all
naturalized citizens to prevent them from participation in the electoral
process or to stand for election until a law regulating naturalization and the
Bahraini nationality is promulgated
6. Dismissal of all heads of
agencies, boards and institutions at the same time as dissolving the cabinet
And more!
After one month of bagging HiB to
enter the dialogue, the unpeaceful protesters escalated the internal situation
after occupying Salmaniya Medical Complex, blocking main roads, killing cops,
attacking expats and Sunnis!
The GoB was forced to seek help
from GCC shield to protect Bahrain from any foreign possible military
interventions and declare the National Security Law to restore security.
BICI report:
“The Government believed that the domestic situation reached a
point that was threatening the complete breakdown of law and order, the safety
of citizens and the stability of the country, all of which impacted upon the economic
and social condition of the country. Therefore, on 15 March 2011, HM King Hamad
issued Royal Decree No. 18 of 2011 pursuant to which a State of National Safety
was declared in Bahrain”
“The evidence presented to the Commission by the GoB on the involvement
by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the internal affairs of Bahrain does not
establish a discernable link between specific incidents that occurred in
Bahrain during February and March 2011 and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Given
that most of the claims made by the GoB related to allegations of intelligence
operations undertaken by Iranian operatives, sources of which, by their nature,
are not publicly available, the Commission has not been able to investigate or
independently verify these allegations of Iranian involvement in the events of
February and March 2011”
“The GoB has indicated to the Commission that it has further information
in its possession that demonstrates involvement by the Islamic Republic of Iran
in the internal affairs of Bahrain. Due to security and confidentiality
considerations, however, the GoB has declined to share this information with
the Commission”
“The Commission has not found any evidence of human rights violations
committed by the GCC-JSF units deployed in Bahrain starting on 14 March 2011”
On the Economic side the GOB
according to BICI report:
"Bahrain discovered oil in 1931, the first of the Arab States of the
Gulf region to do so. It is however oil-poor relative to its neighbours.
Bahrain‘s mainland oil reserves are expected to be depleted within the next 15
years"
"The production and export of aluminium is Bahrain‘s second largest
industry. The financial sector, which currently accounts for 26% of growth in
gross domestic product (GDP), is among the central pillars of the economy, and
Bahrain is considered an important centre of Islamic banking globally. The real
estate and construction sectors, which are closely linked to the financial
sector, witnessed a boom over the past decade and currently comprise about 7%
of GDP"
"Bahrain‘s economy has experienced consistent growth over the past
decade; the GDP real growth rate was 3.1% in 2009 and 4% in 2010. GDP per
capita has also been steadily increasing and reached USD 20.475 in the first
decade of the century"
"The Government of Bahrain (GoB) over the past ten years has embarked
on a series of structural reforms. These include the launch of ―Bahrain 2030‖,
which the GoB describes as an economic vision for the country, which emphasizes
expansion of the service, financial, tourism and high-tech sectors"
Bahrain’s Economy according to
International organizations:
The Heritage foundation. Bahrain’s
economic freedom score is 75.2, making its economy the 12th freest in the 2012
Index to be ranked 1st in MENA.
The Foundation adding:
“Bahrain has been undergoing a
challenging transition to greater openness and transparency, more visibly since
early 2011. Compared to many other countries, Bahrain performs quite well in
many of the four pillars of economic freedom and represents the MENA region
among the world’s 20 freest economies.”
“Despite the challenging
environment, Bahrain continues to be a financial hub for dynamic economic
activity. The kingdom’s openness to global commerce is sustained by its
competitive and efficient regulatory environment. However, enhancing the foundations of economic freedom
through improvements in property rights and corruption will be critical to
ensuring success in the country’s ongoing evolution”
The Global Information Technology
Report 2009-2010 recognized as the ‘gold standard’
for benchmarking the networked readiness and technological competitiveness of
the world’s economies. Bahrain ranks 38th out of 133 studied countries. Bahrain
performs comparatively well and showed tremendous improvement in particular
areas - Labour Market (35th) compared to (64th) in 2008 and Higher Education
(48th) compared to (54th) in 2008.
Doing Business Report 2011, The World Bank Doing Business project measures business
regulations and their enforcement across 183 economies. Singapore tops the
overall ranking, Hong Kong SAR, New Zealand,
United States of America and
Denmark round out the top five.
Bahrain ranks 4th in the MENA
region and ranks 38th worldwide amongst 183 economies.
World Investment Report 2010,
UNCTAD. The report focuses on trends in
foreign direct investment (FDI) worldwide, at the regional and country levels
and emerging measures to improve its contribution to development. The Inward
FDI Performance Index ranks countries by the FDI they receive relative to their
economic size.
Bahrain ranks 23rd out of 141
economies in the World Investment Report 2010 by the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD).
The Report 2010 - Emerging
Bahrain, Oxford Business Group.
As the first Gulf state to come to prominence in the international oil
market, the Kingdom of Bahrain was also the first to start the diversification
process away from hydrocarbons that is now the norm in the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC).
On June 30, 2010: Bahrain
won three prestigious awards from the United Nations at its Public Service Day
2010 held in the city of Barcelona, Spain. The Award came as an appreciation of
the Excellent performance of the Kingdom of Bahrain in e-Government, and the
implementation of pioneer projects and programs in public service, highlighting
Bahrain’s effective contribution to the development of public administration.
According to the UN Report for e-Government
Readiness2010, Bahrain became No. 13 worldwide, 3rd in Asia and 1st
at the Arab, Gulf and Middle East levels.
Furthermore, GoB built three major
projects to support the Economy:
1. Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH)
The vision is to create a
technologically astute and sophisticated financially focused business community
of reputable local, regional and international companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The mission is to reinforce
Bahrain's unsurpassed position as the leading international financial centre of
the Middle East by evolving a highly focused, committed and advanced financial
environment for its occupants to thrive and prosper.
Why Bahrain?
Bahrain has a strong regulatory framework
- The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has been the banking regulator since 1973.
- The CBB was given the responsibility of mandating the entire financial sector.
- The CBB is globally recognized as one of the best central banks in the Middle East.
- In 2002 Bahrain became the first country in Arab world to move to a single regulator model.
Bahrain
boasts of a strong financial sector performance
- Bahrain has over 400 Financial Institutions (CBB Fact Sheet, April 2011).
- The Financial Sector contributes 25% to Bahrain’s GDP.
- Bahrain has recorded a real GDP growth rate of 5.7% over the last five years. (Economic Intelligence Unit, Citi Private Bank: Quadrant Politics matters note, 14 February, 2011).
- Bahrain ranks 28 with regard to the ease of doing business (Doing Business in the Arab World, 2011).
- Bahrain was ranked the 37th most competitive country in the world (Global Competitiveness report produced by the World Economic 2010).
- Bahrain has a tax free business environment.
- 100% foreign ownership permitted.
For more info please click here
2. Bahrain World Trade Center
(BWTC)
The BWTC is the Kingdom’s first
truly intelligent building and features an array of sophisticated SMART
features. Reaching its point at over 240 meters in height, BWTC’s two iconic
50-srorey towers offer spectacular views of the Arabian Gulf Manama’s
cityscape.
The two towers are linked via three sky bridges each holding a 225kW
wind turbine, totalling to 675kW of wind power production. Each of these
turbines measure 29 m (95 ft) in diameter, and is aligned north,
which is the direction from which air from the Arabian Gulf blows in.
The wind turbines are expected to
provide 11% to 15% of the towers' total power consumption, or approximately 1.1
to 1.3 GWh a year. This is equivalent to providing the lighting for about 300
homes. The three turbines were turned on for the first time on the 8th of
April, 2008. They are expected to operate 50% of the time on an average day.
BWTC is currently ranks as the second
tallest building in Bahrain, after the twin towers of the Bahrain Financial
Harbour. The project has received several awards:
On 26th November 2008: BWTC has been named “Best Tall Building” in the Middle
East and Africa region for 2008 by the world’s leading body dedicated to the
field of tall buildings, The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
(CTBUH), at an awards ceremony held in Chicago, US.
The 2008 “Best Tall Building
Awards” recognise projects that have made extraordinary contributions to the
advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment, and that achieve
sustainability at the highest and broadest level.
On November 18, 2009: (BWTC), the world’s first building to ever integrate
large-scale commercial wind turbines into a mixed-use development, has
announced its win of the prestigious 2009 NOVA Award in Innovation.
The prestigious NOVA awards
identify projects that have been proven to display significant technological
advances and have had positive, important effects on construction to improve
quality and reduce cost. The BWTC’s win was announced at the NOVA Award Banquet
on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at Buena Vista Palace resort in Orlando, Florida,
USA.
On 27 April 2010: BWTC has been announced the 2010 winner of “Best Use of
Lighting – Exterior” Award for its innovative architectural lighting design
illuminating the exterior of the structure, at the inaugural PALME Middle East
Awards. The awards - which recognise technical excellence in audio visual (AV),
audio technology and lighting design - were held alongside the PALME
exhibition, the region’s only trade event dedicated to professional lighting,
audio, music, entertainment, audio visual and systems integration solutions.
For more info please click here
3. Bahrain International Circuit (BIC)
- UNIF1ED 2012
The Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One Championship race which
first took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004.
The Bahrain Grand Prix, sponsored
by Gulf Air, made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the
Middle East. Bahrain fought off fierce competition from elsewhere in the region
to stage the race, with Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates all hoping
for the prestige of hosting a Formula One Grand Prix.
The inaugural race was given the
award for the "Best Organised Grand Prix" by the FIA In 2007 the
circuit became the first Grand Prix circuit to be awarded the distinguished FIA
Institute Centre of Excellence award, given for excellent safety, race marshal,
and medical facilities, and for the high standards of technology required to
maintain these.
The first piece of ground was
broken in December 2002. The ‘keys’ to the circuit were handed over to His
Majesty King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on 17 March 2004.
In just 16 months, and at a cost
of US$150 million, a world-class motorsport facility had risen out of the
desert 30km south of Bahrain’s capital city, Manama. And BIC’s reputation has
grown ever since. Its annual Grand Prix is renowned as one of the most
friendly, atmospheric and exciting of the season.
And its success based on the sound
foundation of BIC’s friendly and professional staff has brought other
international race series flooding in: international Formula 3, GP2, GP2 Asia,
the FIA GT Championship and the BMW World Final have all raced at BIC and its
annual Desert 400 is the only round of the V8 Supercar series held outside
Australasia.
BIC has also encouraged local
motorsport: its drag strip has given new focus to what has long been a popular
sport in the Middle East; its Kart Zone will help unearth young local talent;
and its on-site technicians provide vital racing expertise.
Unfortunately, due to the fail
coup by the sinners “HB” and its followers the Bahraini Gangster Nabeel Rajab
gangs, on
February 21, 2011 the race was postponed.
The Bahraini people received the bad news after rescheduling the
race to October with patience and sadness too after hard times passed for the
first time in the tiny Island. The title on ESPN F1 was as follows:
Bahrain GP cannot go ahead - Ecclestone
“Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he thinks the Bahrain Grand
Prix will not take place in October, despite the FIA's decision for it to go
ahead at Friday's World Motor Sport Council meeting”
In a BBC Sport interview Ecclestone said: "Hopefully
there'll be peace and quiet and we can return in the future, but of course it's
not on. The schedule cannot be rescheduled without the agreement of the
participants - they're the facts."
However, the sinners in Bahrain are not satisfied by the losses to
the Bahrain Economy since February 2011 but they are working against the
interest of Bahrain in hosting international events. The sinners in Bahrain, HB
and the gangs of Bahrain Gangster Nabeel Rajab during the International Air
Show made their own “Tires Air Show” in attempt to took place in last January The calls from the sinners HB, the Bahraini
Gangster Nabeel Rajab and criminal youths of Feb14 never stopped to cancel the
race of F1 in April instead of supporting it and support the unity of Bahrain!
Tires Air show VS International Air Show:
Nabeel Rajab:
.jpg)
Feb14 youth:
Pictures to boycott F1!
But, Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as
planned, says Bernie Ecclestone. The Guardian, Thursday 23.
Yes, Bahrain will host the F1 on
April 22 as planned. The Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone promised on
Thursday "there will be no problem with the Bahrain Grand Prix".
"Nobody is saying we're not going or we don't want to go or
anything. Everybody is quite positive. I've told all the teams there's no
problem at all. I'm absolutely 100% sure we'll go there and there will be no problem."
But Ecclestone did say officials in Bahrain would take extra precautions
to ensure the safety of everyone involved with the Formula One circus, which
arrives in two months. "I am sure the people there will make sure, just in
case there's a problem. I am sure there won't be a problem," he said.
Ecclestone figured the truth of the protesters in media! As a lot of
kids having a go at the police which get their rage as shown above!
Furthermore, Prof. Bassiouni who headed an independent commission of inquiry
wrote in a letter to Zayed Alzayani, the chairman of the Bahrain International
Circuit, “the revival of the race is an important point of departure for the
people of Bahrain to forge ahead in their national efforts towards
reconciliation".
Bassiouni congratulated the Bahrain circuit organisers for the decision
to hold the race under the slogan of 'UniF1ed - One Nation in
Celebration".
"This is an important initiative which gives another opportunity
for the People of Bahrain to come together again after all that has happened in
the last year," he wrote in a letter copied to Ecclestone and FIA
president Jean Todt.
Also, on January 18, 2012 Damon Hill believes Formula One can
return to Bahrain in 2012 "with a clear conscience" after personally
visiting the country.
Before being unveiled as a Sky Sports pundit, Hill visited Bahrain with FIA president Jean Todt to see the situation for himself.
Hill said that while he felt the sport should have taken more of a stance
against the situation in 2011 the time was right to return.
"I do not like seeing people shot and brutalised," Hill told The
Times. "I was frustrated last year that Formula One did not raise its
voice against what was happening. But a lot has changed there since then. It is
clear that the situation in Bahrain is better understood and I don't think
anyone would want to go back to Bahrain if there was suffering just because of
a grand prix.
"I listened to a lot of people there, including eye-witnesses. I
believe they are making change for the better. There is no question they have
issues - but every country has issues; we had riots here in the UK not so long
ago. I heard both sides of the story and, this time, Formula One can go to
Bahrain with a clear conscience and not just as a tool for some sort of
cover-up."
At the end I would like to thank Bernie Ecclestone, FIA president Jean
Todt, Damon Hill and Race Teams for supporting UNIF1ED Bahrain.
UNIF1ED
VS
Sinners in Bahrain
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