Bahrain and Yemen get PR help from Qorvis and Bell Pottinger Consulting Firms

I wanted to share what some journalists have already picked up on: the influence two consulting firms in the US and UK are having on the media coverage of the unrest in Bahrain and Yemen.

The first, Qorvis Communications, is based in Washington, DC and has been hired by the Bahraini Government for $40,000/month to spruce up its international image. Evidently Bahrain is concerned that violent crackdowns on protestors makes it look bad (yes Bahraini monarchy, we already know you desperately want to stay in power.) With the contract overseen by Matt J. Lauer (nice slogan there Matt: “I do not want the world. I just want to influence it.”) Qorvis has begun its campaign to make the current Sunni monarchy look good, and the minority Shia protestors look like roving bands of irresponsible, dangerous outlaws. A press release by the Bahrain News Agency (official government agency) on September 24^th addressed the recent elections for 18 vacant parliamentary seats:

“Manama, Sept. 24. (BNA) – The by-elections held here yesterday proved that the pioneering democratic march, anchored by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s Reform Project, will continue un-wavered.
 Efforts made by some clerics and political functions to urge people not to take part in them, by trying to convince them that “boycotting them is a must” and hinting that participation is religiously forbidden, have proved meaningless as voters headed massively to the polling stations and exercised their constitutional rights.
 In addition to the above incitement, groups of saboteurs and outlaws tried to spread chaos and disturbance so as to create unfavorable conditions for the elections to take part and make citizens boycott them through violence and incitement.”

On the same day, a press release through the BNA was issued to the US-based PRNewswire, with similar sentiments:

“HRH the Prime Minister praised the embrace of freedom and democracy, which characterized the electoral process as well as citizen's focused efforts to cast their ballots, as part of the next step to help usher in a new chapter of democracy in Bahrain.
He said the parliamentary by-elections, which took place today, is an unprecedented historical event, showcasing democratic form in Bahrain.”

As pointed out by Brian Whitaker in his excellent blog Al-Bab, the usual boring BNA press releases centre on the comings and goings of the royalty, issuing statements and congratulations. These recent releases mark a shift toward much more propagandised public information.

The actual events of the elections were, of course, more complex than these press releases would make you believe. The 18 parliamentary seats were empty after members of the Shia al-Wefaq party resigned in protest of violent crackdowns on protestors in recent months. Al-Wefaq also called for a boycott of these September elections. This Financial Times article reports that battles between protestors and the security forces disrupted the elections, and opposition groups say that the security forces shut down some Shia areas in order to quell unrest during the voting. It is hard to know exactly what occurred, but the 17% voter turnout is certainly not the grand victory for democracy that the Bahrain Government (and Qorvis) is claiming.

In Yemen, another consulting firm (this time UK-based), Bell Pottinger, is working under dubious government auspices. As reported in the Guardian here, this was confirmed by the company chairman Lord Bell. Bell Pottinger, which previously worked for the Bahraini Government (and subcontracted Qorvis), is evidently now working for an “unnamed entity” in Yemen (later revealed through TBIJ research to be the National Awareness Authority). The NAA certainly has ties to President Saleh’s government – particularly since “President Saleh’s nephew, Colonel Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, who is also the commander of the Presidential Guard, is the Authority’s chairman and founder, and its board of trustees includes members of President Saleh’s current cabinet.” (see full article).

President Saleh recently returned to Yemen after recuperating from wounds in Saudi Arabia. Though it is unclear what will happen in Yemen in the coming months, it is disturbing that Bell Pottinger is actively working to assist another autocratic government to ‘look good.’ There have been many reports of harassment and arrests of journalists in Yemen for charges such as ‘insulting the Republican Guard’ – documented by organizations such as Reporters Without Borders – and Saleh’s government continues to portray protestors as violent, irresponsible groups and itself as the keeper of stability.

It seems that unlike in the United States, UK lobby groups do not have to register their contracts with foreign governments. In either case, it doesn’t keep firms in the U.S. from having dubious ties to authoritarian regimes.

I find it interesting as a reminder to those of us who focus on government policy – particularly those of the U.S. and Europe in regards to the Middle East/North Africa – we might overlook the relationships that private sector companies have with groups in the region. While I often think of oil companies and defense firms as the primary culprits, it seems that our information and the media are also under threat from our very own firms. Corporate social responsibility? Encourage democracy in the Arab world? Give credence to the idea of a real Arab Spring?

Why, when there’s $40,000 per month to be made. Why? I want to influence the world.

Bell Pottinger and Qorvis, shame on you.