The Gulf
海湾国家
Still rich but no longer so calm
Voices of dissent are popping up here and there in the Gulf too
反对的声音在海湾也时有所闻
Dec 3rd 2011 | from the print edition
THE notion that the Gulf is a haven of serenity while the rest of the Arab world burns─or goes to the polls─is beginning to seem less plausible. In Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and even the placid United Arab Emirates(UAE), people opposing the ruling families are giving voice to dissent. The region∨s rulers have long relied on their oil wealth as a way to keep their citizens quiet but as ripples of unrest spread, this may not work for ever.
前一段时间有这样的说法：大部分阿拉伯世界不是在闹示威就是在搞选举，只有海湾国家是宁静的天堂。现在，这种说法已经开始不大符合现状了。在巴林、科威特、沙特，甚至在平静的阿联酋，反对那些掌权家族的人已经开始发出不谐和的声音。这个地区的统治者们长期以来依赖石油财富使公民们保持安静，但是，当动荡的波澜越益扩展时，这个办法可能不会永远有效。
Kuwait∨s prime minister, Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, had to step down on November 28th over allegations of corruption. Earlier that month opposition politicians and protesters stormed parliament, one of the few bodies in the Gulf elected on a universal franchise, to demand his resignation.
科威特掌权家族的资深成员、首相谢赫·纳赛尔·萨巴赫因被指控腐化不得不于11月28日下台。当月早些时候，对立派的政界人士和示威者冲击了国会，要求他辞职。科威特国会是海湾地区少有的几个普选产生的立法机构之一。
Anger may grow again in Bahrain thanks to the government∨s so far tepid response to a report by an independent commission that examined a crackdown earlier this year on pro-democracy protests. No one has had to resign, despite the report∨s conclusion that torture had been routine. King Hamad replaced the head of the National Security Agency but then made him a personal adviser. Unless the king enacts real reforms, protests are likely to resume.
巴林民众的不满情绪可能会再次生长，因为一个独立的委员会在对今年初镇压民主抗议活动进行调查之后，提供了一个报告，但政府至今对报告没有什么积极回应。尽管报告揭露当时虐待行为是很普遍的，但没有官员被要求辞职。虽然哈马德国王
撤换了国家安全局的局长，但随即又任命他作了私人顾问。除非国王实施真正的改革，民众的抗议活动很可能会再次爆发。
Saudi Arabia, the Gulf∨s giant, has not been immune to unrest. Between November 20th and 23rd, four men were killed in protests in the eastern, Shia-populated city of Qatif. Footage on YouTube showed several hundred marching protesters, a rare sight in the kingdom.
海湾国家中的大国沙特阿拉伯也没有完全置身于动荡之外。11月20日至23日，在东部什叶派人口集中城市卡提夫的示威活动中,有四个人死亡。YouTube上显示的画面有几百名游行抗议者，这在沙特是很少见的。
Even Abu Dhabi, the richest of the seven statelets making up the UAE, has had to silence the voice of dissent. On November 27th five cheeky pro-democracy bloggers who had been in prison since April charged with ¨insulting〃 the country∨s royal rulers were sentenced to terms varying from two to threeyears. A day later they were pardoned by Sheikh Khalifa al-Nahyan, the UAE∨s president.
即使是阿联酋七个部落中最富裕的阿步扎比，也不得不设法平息反对的声音。11月27日，五个民主派博克人因为“亵渎”王族统治者的罪名被监禁7个月之后，分别被判二至三年徒刑.第二天，阿联酋的总统谢赫哈利法·阿勒纳哈扬就赦免了他们。
But their original demand, which so incensed the authorities, that parliament be directly elected and given legislative power, will not be forgotten in a hurry. Billows of the Arab spring have reached even the Gulf.
但是，这五个人一开始提出时就惹恼了当局的诉求，即国会直选并有立法权，人们不会很快忘记。阿拉伯之春的浪潮似乎已经涌到海湾各国了。