Higher Education reform in Bahrain: 2008-2011 ”In failing to differentiate Bahrain Polytechnic’s relationship with the Ministry of Education from the University of Bahrain’s relationship with the Ministry, the BICI have been complicit in the extension of state power into hitherto legally autonomous institutions. I’m sure that this was done unwittingly on the Commissioners’ part, but … Continue reading »
Tagged with BICI …
Open letter to David Cameron on Bahrain
21st April 2012 Sir, I write to you as British former expatriate in Bahrain, requesting that you urgently reconsider British policy on Bahrain, which I am convinced is deeply misguided and counter to Britain’s long-term interest in the Arabic-speaking region. Yesterday you said “Bahrain is not Syria, there is a process of reform under way … Continue reading »
After a Bahraini Kristallnacht: is outside intervention the only solution?
Mahmood Al Yousif reports worsening civil strife in his blog: http://mahmood.tv/2012/04/11/hmmm-i-smell-even-worse-civil-strife-coming-up/ Last night baying sectarian mobs of so-called “loyalists” damaged Shia-owned cars and shops, chanting sectarian slogans while the police stand by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBrC8K5z79w&feature=player_embedded These slogans include calling the Shia “rawafi9′” (refusers), ibna2 l-muta3a” (children of pleasure-marriage). Later, Shia-owned shops were ransacked: I see disturbing echoes of … Continue reading »
Open Letter to King Hamad: Al Khawaja’s death would be a stain on Bahrain; please add your signature!
An open letter to King Hamad signed by Lord Avebury, British MPs, human rights organisations, and academics with expertise in the Middle East, including myself. This will be handed in to the Bahrain embassy in London at the end of the working day on Tuesday 10th April. Anyone wishing to add a signature can do … Continue reading »
Hard Lessons in Bahrain: Mike Diboll in the Chronicle of Higher Education
My article on my experiences in Bahrain education reform, culminating with the events of 13th March 2011, has just been published on line and in print in the Review section of the Washington DC-based Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle is the world’s leading news medium for higher education. Utne described the award-winning Chronicle Review as ”a fearless, free-thinking section … Continue reading »
Bad faith over desecrated mosques, and the poverty of the Bassiouni report
The allegedly ‘inadvertent’ burning of copies of the Qur’an by American military personnel at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan has led to widespread protest across the world, with lives being lost in violent demonstrations. However, anger has been less widespread over the Bahrain regime’s demolition of mosques and other Islamic religious buildings used by Bahrain’s Shia … Continue reading »
Mental Health and Bahrain, the psychological impact of conflict
Below is a doctor’s report on my mental health condition last year. If I suffered this through what I experienced, what must the mental health of the rest of Bahrain be like, those who have suffered worse for longer? Yesterday I posted the University of Bahrain’s 22nd June 2011 letter to me, rejecting my resignation … Continue reading »
Bahrain’s internal coup, Iain Lindsay out of his depth
Two items from today’s English language propaganda sheet the Gulf Daily News. The first is today’s front page story, about spending cuts in Bahrain: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=324292 Unelected Khalifa Al Khalifa, at 41 years in office the world’s longest-serving prime minister, apparently “issued directives to downsize official delegations for events which do not require high-level participation”. The high-level meeting … Continue reading »
Letter to Dr. Mike Diboll from the University of Bahrain
Today I begin publishing correspondence relating to the dispute between myself and my former employers, the University of Bahrain. The rationale for this is: The correspondence shows the UoB to be in gross violation of international norms of academic freedom and best practice Exposing the UoB’s dealings with me might help others in Bahrain who … Continue reading »
What can Bahrain learn from Northern Ireland. An essay on the eve of the 14th February
Brian Dooley’s lead Back in September 2011, Brian Dooley, Director of Human Rights First, wrote an important article “Bahrain Should Heed Lessons from Ireland”: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2011/09/29/bahrain-should-heed-lessons-from-ireland/ This essay is a reflection of the points of similarity between the Irish experience, in particular that of Northern Ireland, and Bahrain. There are of course important differences between Ireland … Continue reading »
