Bahrain bans its oldest newspaper 23, June 2009
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Bahrain, Iran.Tags: Ahmad, Ahmadinejad Jewish, Bahrain, Gulf Times, Iran, Iran war games, US fleet
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Authorities in Bahrain have closed down the oldest newspaper in the country after a reporter alleged that Iranian President Ahmadinajad was Jewish. It is not known when Akhbar Al Khaleej (Gulf News) will reopen. An article – ‘Islamic Republic – Popular Fury’ by a female member of Bahrain’s Consultative Council, Samira Rajab, which slammed Ahmadinajad’s government is believed to have precipitated the closure, though this has not been officially confirmed. The author was repeating an oft mooted notion that Ahmadinahad has in fact changed his name from the Jewish name Saborjhian.
The immediate and somewhat drastic reaction of the Bahraini authorities is surprising. Bahrain has a majority Shia population of Iranian descent and thus perhaps it was to allay any potential issues there. Alternatively, Bahrain could have wanted to temper any Iranian reaction to the story. It was only a few months ago that the speaker of the Iranian Parliament bemoaned the fact that Bahrain used to be to be considered as Iranian territory. This drew a vociferous reaction from Bahrain as such statements hit an exceedingly raw nerve in Manama.
Their overly-placatory reaction to this story highlights the changeable nature of Gulf politics.Perhaps included in the Bahraini calculation is Iran’s war games exercises in the Gulf this week. Whilst such activities may well be somewhat threatening, the US fleet anchored in Manama and their stated desire to expand their port space in Bahrain, ought to assuage any Bahraini worries.
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