The Difference Between Demos The Regime “Protects” & "Cracks Down"
 

The Difference Between Demos The Regime “Protects” and Those the Regime Cracks Down

Some politicians have been making a big scene about the “strategic” gains from licensed demonstrations and sit-ins. If this is true, then who actually gains? Is it the opposition or the regime?

In order to find out, let us do the math and compare what the opposition gains (thus the regime loses) and what it loses (thus the regime gains).

Opposition’s gains:
1) Refocusing the global media attention on the Bahrain Spring occasionally.
2) Increasing popularity of the parties that organize or support the demos or sit-ins.
3) Providing an opportunity for those who cannot participate in other activities, which expect to get confronted by police forces to "mark" attendance.

On the other hand, some of regime’s gains are:
1) Misinforming the real demands of the mainstream opposition, which are the downfall of the regime and self-determination.
2) Restoring legitimacy whenever it is lost after committing massacres or grieve violations.
3) Splitting the opposition into a portion seeking to reform the regime and another seeking to overthrow it (divide and conquer).
4) Diverting the global media’s attention away from regime violations elsewhere in the country.
5) Showing to the world that it is a real democratic regime. The fact that the apposition is allowed to hold demos and sit-ins is the proof.
6) Tarnishing the image of the revolutionaries and showing them as "vandals" and "terrorists".
7) Absorbing much of the anger and discontent.

Based on the argument above, we realize that although the opposition may gain some tactical and short-term benefits, the strategic and long-term gains are all for the regime at the end!


Pearl Revolution Political Center

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