Remembering Bahrain’s Uprising

    Just as optimistic vibes in the Arab world reached their peak with the escape of Tunisia’s Ben-Ali and the resignation of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, a call emerged in Bahrain for a “national day of rage” to be held on 14 February, 2011. The day chosen coincided with the official celebrations of the transition of Bahrain from an emirate into a kingdom and the declaration of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which took place on 14 February, 2002. The protests were called for by a group named the “Movement of the February 14 Youth,” which was unknown back then neither were its leaders. Still, the call generated widespread debate, mostly on social media outlets, throughout the four weeks that preceded the anticipated day.
Preparations for and discussions of a “national day of rage” in Bahrain were not, however, a cause for concern for the Bahraini government or the recognized opposition organizations (those legally registered by the Ministry of Social Affairs). Both the Bahraini government and the recognized opposition had (different) reasons to expect the failure of the call or that its eventual outcomes would be limited to small and isolated protests that would evaporate at the end of the protest day.