Demos are the new in thing at the moment, haven't you heard? Throngs of people turn out to practice their freedom of expression against every non-issue they can fixate their minds upon. This includes a recent newspaper cartoon by an artist who was, after all, only practising his. Trivialities dilute the value of demonstrations, drawing attention away from real issues.

Sometimes rallies have more sinister results, which brings me to the widespread misunderstanding surrounding the current stalemate between the government and the so-called ‘unemployment committee'. Instinct tells me to side with the underdog, but such situations are rarely that simple.

Despite some suggestions, demonstrations are not always legitimate. A peaceful demo outside a public servant's office is fine, unless its intent is to create chaos. Demonstrators whose stated aim is to damage or stain public property would be stopped in even the most liberal countries. But instead of logically discrediting them, the authorities have handled illegitimate demonstrations heavy-handedly, thereby damaging their own reputation. Force is just not needed when police overwhelmingly outnumber protesters.

Still, it's important to remember that this doesn't necessarily mean that their opponents' cause is sincere. After all, how can so-called human rights activists justify praying for the deaths of human beings, or turn up to honour people who were planning killing sprees? Reading between the lines, it is pretty obvious that these demonstrations were aimed at provoking the government. This group's first clash with police took place in June. They had the whole of Bahrain to demonstrate in, so why did the committee insist on doing it outside the Royal Court, the one street in the country where demonstrations are not allowed? Why, for that matter, advertise the fact that they planned to throw rotten eggs and tomatoes throwing at Parliament? The authorities over-reacted and escalated the situation, playing right into their hands. The result has been to make police less tolerant of rallies. Great. So now you have less freedom. Happy now?

Unfortunately the committee has succeeding in convincing the masses that its sole aim is employment, which is something I don't buy. Why is it that their most well attended protests were held on Fridays or in the evening? Could it be, perhaps, that most of the demonstrators had other obligations to attend to, like, um, jobs perhaps?

In fact, some of these so-called ‘unemployed' have admitted that they do work. Some even have commercial registrations for their own businesses. But most are obviously poor and I can believe that they honestly think that their activities may improve their lives. I can sympathise with the unemployed, but these people are being guided by political activists whose ultimate aim is destabilisation and eventually a religious state. This is something nobody should support. Even the status quo is infinitely better for everyone, including the unemployed themselves, even if they don't realise it. Change is coming through Bahrain's labour, economic and educational reforms, which appear to be sincere this time. Further demands can be attained gradually rather than by shocking the system. Bahrain has opened up in a way that most countries in the region haven't. A few people taking things too far, too fast, is likely to spoil it for all of us.

tariqk1976@hotmail.com 

tkhonji@yahoo.com

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