Bahrain Hires DC PR Firm to Repair Post-Crackdown Reputation
Firm's First Report Condemns Doctors Without Borders
Backed by invading Saudi troops, the Bahraini regime quickly and violently crushed pro-democracy protesters earlier this year, and has continued with a campaign of repression against those who were involved. It seems to be keeping large portions of the population off the streets, but all that brutality, even if it hasn’t been widely publicized, looks really bad, right?
Undaunted by this the Bahraini government decided to avoid doing anything rash, like allowing free elections or ending the torture of detainees. Instead they just decided to hire a PR firm.
The DC-based PR firm, Qorvis Communications, boasts of having the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along with big companies like Adobe and Amazon.com as customers. A big company, to be sure, but can $40,000 a month plus expenses really pave over one of the Arab Spring’s violent failures?
Its hard to say, but the company certainly seems to be trying its best, with its first statement to the press angrily condemning Doctors Without Borders. The group was recently involved in the crackdown when Bahraini forces raided and closed one of their offices because they were treating injured protesters. The statement lashes the high profile humanitarian group for treating Bahrainis “without any license issued by the health ministry.”
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Jamal
August 9th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
"The government of Bahrain has hired a Washington PR firm at a cost of $40,000 a month as it moves to tackle a flurry of negative foreign press in the wake of widespread political unrest".
These people are truly idiots.., by paying such amount to a Washington PR Firm off course they are going to support the Bahraini government.., and condemn the Doctors without borders.., This and any other PR firms are in business of Public Relation and get paid for that.., they would even support any terrorist or supported terrorist groups or a militarism or a dictatorial regime as long as they get paid.., and blame everything on Anti war movement all over the world.., is a PR firm you idiots.., doing more damage to what is not there to start with "democracy". You don’t need to pay that amount to a PR firm in Washington.., give that money to help the Palestinians people in Gaza and implement a true democracy in Bahrain.., then you have shown the Iranian regime that you mean Business.
thedissenter
August 10th, 2011 at 10:52 am
This would be funny if it weren't so pathetic. They slaughter scores of civilians with the utmost brutality and hire a PR outfit to roll out the propaganda and lies while the issues that caused the problem remain hidden under the carpet. Denial at its best! Well, at least I hope they hired Berson Marsteller, PR firm to the Nazis. They did wonders for Hitler and can do it for Bahrain too.
RickR30
August 10th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
They sure seem to have learned from the US. Make no changes, just issue a statement, market your way to respectability, deny reality.