Tweet
...and shooting the old one.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...-sunni-foreign
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124545647884133003.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...-protests.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12508082
Yay it seems so wonderful that Arab leaders are finally getting a hang of how democracy works. 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...-sunni-foreign
Bahrain's security forces are the backbone of the Al Khalifa regime, now facing unprecedented unrest after overnight shootings. But large numbers of their personnel are recruited from other countries, including Jordan, Pakistan and Yemen.
Tanks and troops from Saudi Arabia were also reported to have been deployed in support of Bahraini forces.
Precise numbers are a closely guarded secret, but in recent years the Manama government has made a concerted effort to recruit non-native Sunni Muslims as part of an attempt to swing the demographic balance against the Shia majority – who make up around 65% of the population of 1 million.
Tanks and troops from Saudi Arabia were also reported to have been deployed in support of Bahraini forces.
Precise numbers are a closely guarded secret, but in recent years the Manama government has made a concerted effort to recruit non-native Sunni Muslims as part of an attempt to swing the demographic balance against the Shia majority – who make up around 65% of the population of 1 million.
" ‘There seems to be a clear political strategy to alter the country's demographic balance in order to counter the Shiite voting power,’ says Toby C. Jones, professor of Middle East studies at Rutgers University and a former Bahrain-based analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank. ‘This naturalization stuff is a time bomb.’"
"Few policies anger Bahrain's Shiites more than bestowing citizenship to outside Sunnis, mostly Arabs but also from Pakistan and other South Asian countries.
“On the broadest level, it's a clear attempt to offset the lopsided demographics with Shiites comprising 70 percent of the country's 525,000 citizens. But to many Shiites, it also reflects a cynical view by Bahrain's leaders that it's possible to buy loyalty and use that to strengthen their grip over the country.
"The problem is that this army is not a national one," said Sheik Hassain al-Dahi [leader of the main Shi’ite opposition party]. "It is made up of people who do not share our traditions or culture, and do not have the best interest of the people at heart."
“On the broadest level, it's a clear attempt to offset the lopsided demographics with Shiites comprising 70 percent of the country's 525,000 citizens. But to many Shiites, it also reflects a cynical view by Bahrain's leaders that it's possible to buy loyalty and use that to strengthen their grip over the country.
"The problem is that this army is not a national one," said Sheik Hassain al-Dahi [leader of the main Shi’ite opposition party]. "It is made up of people who do not share our traditions or culture, and do not have the best interest of the people at heart."
"I was also told of how the government was hiring men from Syria, Yemen, Jordan and Pakistan—all Sunni—to serve in the police and security forces. Fast-tracked to citizenship, they were able to jump the queue for housing and also had voting rights that skewed the demographic in favour of candidates supported by the al-Khalifas."
Comment