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ordering him to close Sawut Al-Bahrain for an ‘indefinite period’. 203 The magazine’s

last publication were issues nine and ten of its fourth year in July and August of

1954. Although the action did not yield any immediate results, its repercussions

were later felt, as it will be presented in the following chapter.

After a relatively peaceful period, troubles returned to Bahrain when the

Administration imposed a law forcing vehicle owners to subscribe to a third-party

insurance scheme. The reason for implementing the law was that some drivers

responsible for vehicle accidents were not financially capable of covering the cost of

damage they had incurred to others and this resulted in their imprisonment. Hence

there was a need to implement a law forcing all parties to at least cover themselves

by third-party insurance. Taxi and bus drivers made their opinion publically known

against the new law by going on strike on 25 September. A new proposal to counter

the Government’s plan was made with the idea of establishing a Sanduk [a Box] a

kind of ‘local insurance plan’. 204

On 26 September Belgrave’s diary entry reported on the visit of three

Bahrainis who wanted to mediate in this the new crisis. They were Jabir Al-

Musallem, Mansoor Al-Arrayed, and Khalil Al-Moayyed. The three proposed to the

Adviser the idea of forming the box as a Bahraini insurance fund scheme in which

drivers can subscribe to as an alternative to engaging an insurance company.

Belgrave in return informed the three that the Administration would not take part

in this arrangement, although he did not provide them with a definite answer as to

203 Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave’s Personal Diaries, 19 September 1954.
204 ‘Government of Bahrain: Annual Report for Year 1954 (September 1953-December 1954)’, 1-105
(49).

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