Editorial: At the crossroads Thursday, 22 December 2011 03:02

Bahrain is back on reforms track but unease is growing on the jobs front.  More than 1,600 suspected opposition supporters have been pushed out of public and private sector jobs since March, when Bahrain’s rulers started cracking down on protests by the Shia majority, campaigning for more rights.  Doctors, some contesting sentences of five to 15 years, nurses, teachers, oil and aluminium workers and civil servants rallied outside the labour ministry yesterday to demand their jobs back. Many Shia employees were either dismissed or suspended indefinitely in the wake of the crackdown. Some Bahraini groups claim up to 2,500 people were sacked from their jobs during the unrest. The government puts the number at 1,624. And only 18i  government employees will be reinstated by January 1.

The furore over jobs threatens to undermine the government’s stated intention to reform as the economy is showing signs of recovery.  Bahrain has suffered most among the Gulf states from the current wave of anti-government protests, with at least 35 people losing their lives during the Pearl Revolution. H M King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa has already implemented a number of reforms following publication of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report by Professor Cherif Bassiouni, a former UN human rights lawyer, which concluded Bahrain’s security forces had used “excessive force” against anti-government demonstrators. Some 20 Bahraini police officers have been prosecuted, while the head of the National Security Agency has been replaced. The group of medics who were jailed for participating in the protests have had their trials annulled and been released on bail.

Over the summer, Bahrain held a national dialogue that was billed as its way out of the crisis. It was perfectly organised and every detail communicated through meticulous press releases. But it was also pointless, particularly as the Shia opposition had withdrawn half way through. Then, in September, Bahrain held by-elections to fill 18 parliamentary seats vacated by Shia MPs in protest at the security crackdown. The government hailed the vote as an exercise in democracy and celebrated the victory of three women. But the poll did nothing for reconciliation. It was boycotted by Al Wefaq, the main Shia opposition, and turnout was only 17 percent.

A national commission formed by the King has been meeting to implement the BICI’s recommendations, such as holding officials to account and making military sentences subject to civil court review. The commission said that steps were being taken to reinstate dismissed employees and university students. It said that all workers not referred to the general prosecutor will return to their jobs. Bahrainis have little say in their destiny. The purged workers need to push political parties to talk to the government and help them get their jobs back. The main priority for Bahrain is to heal the divisions as regards jobs is concerned and to undertake the reforms necessary to avoid a repetition of the violence.