The Ministry of Information Bans the Entry of the Belgrave Diary
25 May 2010
The Bahraini authorities, represented in the Ministry of Culture and Information banned the import and sale of the diary of the British adviser of the Government of Bahrain, Charles Belgrave (1926 – 1957), which is considered one of the most significant historical books that document a major stage of the history of Bahrain for the information included in it and which is published for the first time.
The Ministry of Information Bans the Entry of the Belgrave Diary
25 May 2010
The Bahraini authorities, represented in the Ministry of Culture and Information banned the import and sale of the diary of the British adviser of the Government of Bahrain, Charles Belgrave (1926 – 1957), which is considered one of the most significant historical books that document a major stage of the history of Bahrain for the information included in it and which is published for the first time.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights had translated selections from the diary and which cover the period since his arrival to Bahrain in 1926 until he left Bahrain in 1957. One of the Lebanese publishing houses printed it in Lebanon almost a month ago, and a small quantity of it was imported by the Bahraini Al-Isma House, the quantity however was later confiscated by the Ministry of Information. The owner of the publishing house was informed by Mr. Jamal Dawood, Director of the Department of Publications, that the government decided to ban the book and confiscate the existing quantity.
The book, which is made up of more than 600 pages, is a historical narration of events and details of a diary written by the former adviser, on a daily basis, during his work as an adviser of Bahrain’s ruler at that time, and then as an adviser of Bahrain’s government. He lists important details about the country’s development on all administrative, educational, health-wise and judicial levels; as well as his relation with the governor and his role in running the country’s affairs. The BCHR believes that the causes for banning is due to two main reasons, the first is that the Minister herself had translated and published selections of the diary in accordance to the authority’s approach and concealed anything that criticizes the ruling authority at that time, and which is something the book avoided by conveying all significant historical, political and legal events indicated by the adviser in his diary. The other reason of banning the book is due to some precise details and testimonies which the authority is working on absenting from the people, especially those related to the distribution of wealth and the historical context of taking over lands and the practiced sectarian discrimination, as well as talking about the political opposition movements and the methods of dealing with them. It must be noted that the majority of these historical events stated by the adviser in his diary were re-written by the authority in a different manner than its origin, and away from historical integrity and honesty that is required by the process of codification and documentation. It is believed that the government of Bahrain is keeping the original copy of this diary; however it refrains from publishing it. The diary was later leaked and published in several electronic websites by anonymous institutes or people. The selections are considered to be some of the major documents in the modern history of Bahrain, and which have never been published before. They are only a sample of the selections of his diary, and not the entire diary[1] he wrote.
Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave was born in 1894, and he held the position of a private adviser and adviser of financial affairs of the ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa in 1926. He learned Arabic in the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and he arrived in Bahrain in March 1926 as an adviser to the governor of Bahrain, with an annual salary of £720, and he became an adviser to the Bahraini government in 1933, and which is a position he held until he left. He had vast contributions in the administrative reforms of the government, as he worked in organizing the health, education, customs, police and judiciary sectors; as well as the infrastructure of the country. The book is selections of his diary, and which cover the period from his arrival to Bahrain in 1926 until he left in 1957. These selections are considered some of the most significant documents in the modern history of Bahrain, and which have never been published before.
The BCHR also expressed it concern last February due to the Bahraini authority’s banning 25 of the known Lebanese publishing houses from displaying their books in the annual book exhibition which was held on 17 March 2010, and this is something that has been repeated in the last years.
Based on all the above, the BCHR demands the Bahraini authorities to lift the ban imposed on the diary of Charles Belgrave, due to its importance and value in documenting the history of Bahrain, and to lift the ban imposed on the rest of the prohibited books and to stop the practiced restriction against publishing houses and libraries from importing books that do not correspond with the views of the authority.
Check the Arabic-English Belgrave Diary (PDF)
