What do we want for Bahrain?

Don’t force us down the path of Egypt and rule by the military, Islamists in the Parliament and investors and tourists taking flight.

I don’t want to class fellow countrymen as Shi’i and Sunni. All should have equal opportunities. The growing sectarianism and extremism from both sides is alien to Bahrain. Many of my best friends are Shi’i, but committed to supporting our constitutional monarchy. The media is contributing to the sectarian divide every time it falls into the trap of describing the situation as Sunni against Shi’i.

Our government has made mistakes, but this doesn’t justify the opposition’s call for “Death to Al Khalifah”. There has been huge progress by the authorities over the last year; look at how the Bahraini security forces managed the 14 February 2012 protests with minimal force and no serious casualties, despite being attacked by Molotovs and makeshift weapons. The opposition has used abuses by the security forces to justify its own increasingly violent tactics. This is hypocrisy.