Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Samir Al-Baharna, a member of Bahrain's Shura Council (appointed by the king) decided to launch a public relations campaign, aiming at improving Bahrain's image and its reputation stained by human rights violations. The campaign includes various activities, which are currently being prepared, to take place in Paris.

According to many reports, Al-Baharna will head a huge delegation of about 120 figures specialized in different scientific, literary and artistic fields, followed by other delegations consisting of about 400 persons in order to promote Bahrain in the French capital, Paris, for the purpose of enhancing the image of the tiny Gulf island that has been suffering from an unrest over the past four years.

This (very pricey) trip will be at government expense, amid a severe financial crisis, budget deficit and austerity measures which the kingdom is experiencing. The Bahraini citizens were the only ones to suffer from these austerity measures that included lifting subsidies on some commodities. Meanwhile, the government is planning to lift subsidies on fuel and other commodities, according to official statements.

The political unrest that the country has been suffering from over the past four years has led to an increase in spending on security forces and the military, which in turn caused major state budget shortfalls. This coincided with a sharp decline in oil prices; which is considered the main source of the income of Bahrain and neighboring Gulf countries.
Bahrain has recently increased the debt ceiling to 7 billion to allow the government to increase its borrowing.

The Arabic Issue