Today a Bahraini court dissolved the country’s largest opposition group. The move is a sledgehammer in the face of Bahrain’s already frail politics, smashing any residual hope that the solution to the kingdom’s crisis could be negotiated
The Bahraini regime has now deliberately left itself with no partner to join in a political dialogue, and closed off the last real remaining way for people to voice their discontent peacefully. It’s a reckless move, and does nothing more than offer encouragement to those who are pushing for violent attacks against the government.
Today’s decision wasn’t a surprise but was still a shock—it’s the government’s single most repressive act in five years, and the culmination of a more than a month of intense crackdown designed to choke all remaining voices of dissent. It also represents a major challenge to other governments, which cannot ignore the severity or significance of this move.
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