How Long Will Manama's Pearl Square Remain Empty

Manama’s Pearl Square was emptied by force last night. The Bahraini police came in more than 20 vehicles, wearing riot gear and firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters.

The freedom fighters sensibly fled before the onslaught, but at least four people were killed and many more injured. The king had already apologized for marchers’ deaths before last night's encounter, but the prime minister is thus far silent.

Today the Square is empty and the marchers must be considering their next moves in their effort to eliminate the prime minister. No demand for the removal of the king has been raised.

Bahrain is very small country in the Gulf region. It has a large aluminium smelter complex and the small businesses that support it, but an estimated 35% of Bahrainis are unemployed.

The last time I visited Bahrain was more than 10 years ago but, even then, our cars were often searched with metal detectors as we entered our hotel compound. I’ve been in Dubai, Qatar and Abi Dhabi and never experienced, except in Bahrain, such controls or what was at that time called a fear of terrorists.  Perhaps in retrospect, we can conclude that the fear was more directed at its own citizens than at unknown terrorists.

In 2006, the Bahraini parliamentary elections mirrored the split in the country between shiites and sunnis. In the elections, the shiites, a majority in terms of population but treated as a minority by the ruling sunni regime, won at least 17 seats out of 40, but the sunnis were able to maintain their control.

Since then, the shiites have become more and more vocal about their treatment at the hands of the regime. Add to this the 35% unemployment rate and educated young men and women with nothing to do, and you have the stuff revolts are made of.

It is not clear today who is in charge of the marchers or what their goals are except to overthrow the prime minister. But, the deep division between shiites and sunnis is similar to that in Iraq. We know what a problem Iraq has had in building a nation out of these very different religious-political groups.

As their demands become clearer and if they have the courage to continue their freedom fight, we will surely find out what the Bahraini marchers want and how we can help them.

NOTE: Below is PART I of the model constitution. It covers the legislature. In the coming mornings, I will continue with the rest of the Parts until you have a complete model constitution that you can adapt to suit your own cultural and political needs.