An anti-government protester runs with a Bahraini flag and a banner that reads ”We will Return” during a protest that attempted to march back to Al Farook Junction, formally known as Pearl Square, in the village of Sanabis, west of Manama, February 14, 2012. Anti-government protesters tried to march from all directions to reach to the junction but riot police dispersed them by firing tear-gas, rubber bullets and sound grenades. At least 25 protesters have been arrested throughout the daylong protests across the country. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Despite the year-long crackdown on protesters, including opposition journalists and artists, the Arab League has designated Manama as the capital of Arab culture for 2012.

“The word equals death.” This is the opening sentence in the first report of the Bahrain Press Association, which documented the regime’s crackdown on journalists and writers following the outbreak of the uprising there on 14 February 2011.

Despite this, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa inaugurated the “Manama, Capital of Arab Culture 2012” festival earlier this month in a tense atmosphere of repression as the one-year anniversary of the Bahraini uprising approaches.

The selection of Manama as the capital of Arab culture for 2012 surprised many who have been following events there over the past year.

How could the Bahraini capital with its prisons packed with poets and intellectuals be designated a site to celebrate Arab culture?

More than 90 journalists, media personalities, and activists have been threatened or attacked by government forces, prompting many to leave the country.

The report by the Bahrain Press Association reveals that independent journalists were tortured, the widely-read Al-Wasat daily newspaper was targeted, and dozens of artists and writers were fired for supporting the popular uprising, among other violations.

Bahrain’s culture ministry has also carried out a relentless campaign against anyone who participated in the Pearl Roundabout protests at the beginning of the uprising.

Furthermore, Reporters Without Borders ranked Manama among the world’s 10 most dangerous capitals for journalists.

The Bahraini opposition has launched a counter-campaign named, “Manama, Capital of Arab MacCarthy 2012.”The Independent Commission of Inquiry, appointed by the king himself, acknowledged the murders of publisher Karim Fakhrawi and blogger Zakariya al-Ashiri in detention.

Several Arab intellectuals have threatened to boycott the event, after a call to take action was issued in Jordan.

More than 100 intellectuals signed a petition demanding that the Arab League withdraw its selection of Manama as this year’s capital of culture.

A boycott campaign of Bahrain was already underway before the capital of culture designation.

For instance, Marcel Khalife refused to participate in the Cultural Spring festival, held in March of last year, to protest the Bahraini regime’s practices against protesters.

Poet Qassem Haddad assumed the position of chairman of the festival’s poetry committee after Fawziya al-Sindi refused to serve as chair.

On its Twitter and Facebook pages, the opposition threatened to publish lists of shame that would include “names of all opportunistic intellectuals that participate in the event.”

As a result of these campaigns, Minister of Culture Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa has been secretive about the names of the festival’s participants for fear that activists would publicize them to dissuade them from coming.

— Al-Akhbar