Saudi Arabia in fear of democratic change in neighboring countries

While King al-Khalifa and the US State Department may agree on a democratic reform in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia would reject the notion, an analyst told Press TV. Recently in Bahrain, protesters took to the streets to show support for the families of the scores of demonstrators killed by regime forces over the past year. They were however met with teargas and rubber bullets. Surrounding these events Saudi Arabia has agreed on purchasing billions of dollars worth of weapons from the United States to keep US protection viable. Press TV has interviewed Hisham Jaber, the Director of Middle East Studies group in Beirut, about the ongoing people’s revolution and human rights situation in Bahrain. The Middle East expert expects more protests and a violent government response to the escalations over the period of Ashura. The following is an approximate transcription of the interview. Press TV: We are looking at a year ago when we had this international jurors that accused the regime’s forces of gross human rights abuses and a year from that time we are looking only at of the 26 measures only three have been completed. It doesn’t show obviously the intent by the regime there in Bahrain to come to any resolve with the opposition, of course since we see the different protests taking place almost on a weekly basis. Jaber: For 20 monthsm the people of Bahrain have been asking for legal demands; asking for democracy, for human rights and for equality. Those demands I think are the slogans of the United States and every country in the world. For 20 months, the people of Bahrain have been making peaceful demonstrations, but faced with violence by the government. I know personally of King Hamed (al-Khalifa) that the king was really willing to make reform in his country, but was faced with the right wing, which is under the pressure of Saudi Arabia. We always said that any democracy that may happen in Bahrain, it will move to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia will not tolerate it. Bahrain for Saudi Arabia is very important, it is the main gate. Also on the other hand for the United States it is a platform - America treats Bahrain like a military platform. Bahrain of course is the home of the US Fifth Fleet. I think the United States of America will not make any pressure on the government of Bahrain unless they are sure that the American interests will be protected if there is any change in Bahrain. We heard yesterday that the administration of Obama for the first time did condemn the government of Bahrain when it banned all protests. But this condemnation by the American administration is still shy and verbal and oral. I think the people of Bahrain will continue as they said and will decide to continue their demonstrations, their riots, even if the government faces this with violence. We have to understand something and to be practical and pragmatic to know that if there is no international pressure. I don’t think anything would change. We have to expect more violence and an escalation of the situation in the next few days because muharram starts and we have ten days of Ashura and I don’t think the government of Bahrain will tolerate those riots or those demonstrations even if those demonstrations are still peaceful, meaning the protesters don’t have any weapons. Yet I think and even by the American spokesperson - I will borrow an American statement from an American spokesperson from the State Department who said, “The decision to curb these rights in the country of Bahrain after professed commitment to reform, it will not help advance the national conciliation nor build trust among all parties.” If the Americans said this I think it’s time for the government of Bahrain to understand that this is enough and now it’s not too late and I think that the king of Bahrain still has time to make reform and to solve the problems of his country by for example making a Constitutional monarchy and establish democracy in this country whether Saudi Arabia likes it or not. I think the Americans will not be against this, but it is the only solution in my opinion. We have to expect the escalation of the situation in Bahrain. Nobody can guarantee that those demonstrations will not … be obliged to use weapons or violence against violence. I think, the only solution is to make international community wake up... to try to wake up the international community and make some pressure by mass media on the new American administration and by that I mean Obama in his second term to respect their struggles and to respect their human rights and to oblige the government of Bahrain to establish democracy in that country. Otherwise, we have to expect more escalation [of the situation] and more violence.