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provide evidence to support this charge. 146

The tactic of using the British (or a British personality) as a scapegoat

immediately following the event was also reflected in Bahrain’s nationalist

newspaper Al-Qafilah whose editorial team included Al-Bakir. Interestingly there

was no censorship of articles documented for the newspaper until the publication of

its issue of 2 October 1953, which was the first issue to be published following the

riot. The first page alone included a total of five articles that were completely

censored by the Administration. Nothing was left intact from the articles except the

titles, for the journalists wanted to show what the topics were. The titles that were

published gave an understanding of what might have been the possible content of

the censored articles as it seemed that the writers attempted to blame the British for

being behind, or involved in, igniting the clashes. The titles of the five censored

articles were, ‘Beyond the Tragedy’, ‘Tears and Smiles’, ‘What a disappointment’,

‘The Hand’, possibly in an attempt to hint at the involvement of a foreign power in

recent events, and ‘This Crisis is caused by…’ also hinting at foreign intervention. 147

No British FO documents survive today that support Al-Bakir’s theory of a

plot to start sectarian tensions in Bahrain among FO papers vis-à-vis Bahrain nor in

the personal memoirs and diaries of officials including that of Belgrave. Al-Bakir

also does not present a pièce justificative as proof to support his argument which is

based mainly on speculation. He attempted to lay the blame on the foreigner for the

country’s own misfortunes instead of acknowledging that there was an inherently

146 A.R. Al-Bakir, Al-Awath’a Al-Siyasiyah fi Al-Bahrain wa Al-Ahdath Al-Akhirah fiha [The Political
Situation in Bahrain and its Recent Events] (2007), 48, hereafter The Political Situation in Bahrain.
147 Al-Qafilah, 2 October 1953, 1.

© Hamad E. Abdulla 47