(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A leading German foreign ministry official here Monday evaded answering a question during a news conference on his country's reaction to Bahrain's by-election restrictions imposed by the Al-Khalifa regime and the subsequent security crackdown.
Asked about Berlin's reaction to the by-elections in Bahrain and the government crackdown ahead of the polls, deputy foreign ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer merely replied, 'We have hope and expectations that Bahrain could succeed in a peaceful way in meeting the interests of all those involved.'
In the ballot, 14 seats were reportedly up for grabs in the 40-seat parliament after Bahrain's largest opposition party, al-Wefaq, walked out in February, in protest at a harsh government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left at least 30 dead.
Bahrain's by-elections were also overshadowed by violent street protests that left scores injured and led to numerous arrests.
While Germany initially urged Bahrain's government to negotiate with the opposition, it has issued no strong condemnation of Manama's use of violence and intimidation since the middle of March, when Saudi Arabia sent more than 1,000 troops into Bahrain to help the Al-Khalifa regime quell the protest movement that started in February asking for democratic reforms.
The German refusal to condemn massive human rights abuses committed by the Bahraini security forces while condemning such abuses in Libya and Yemen has undermined any credibility it had with Bahrainis.
German human right groups have time and again complained that Berlin has been publicly mum amid reports that Bahrain's Sunni-led government was waging a violent and bloody crackdown — destroying Shiite mosques, illegally detaining and torturing dissidents, attacking medical personnel to prevent them from treating wounded protesters and abusing women and girls.
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Asked about Berlin's reaction to the by-elections in Bahrain and the government crackdown ahead of the polls, deputy foreign ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer merely replied, 'We have hope and expectations that Bahrain could succeed in a peaceful way in meeting the interests of all those involved.'
In the ballot, 14 seats were reportedly up for grabs in the 40-seat parliament after Bahrain's largest opposition party, al-Wefaq, walked out in February, in protest at a harsh government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left at least 30 dead.
Bahrain's by-elections were also overshadowed by violent street protests that left scores injured and led to numerous arrests.
While Germany initially urged Bahrain's government to negotiate with the opposition, it has issued no strong condemnation of Manama's use of violence and intimidation since the middle of March, when Saudi Arabia sent more than 1,000 troops into Bahrain to help the Al-Khalifa regime quell the protest movement that started in February asking for democratic reforms.
The German refusal to condemn massive human rights abuses committed by the Bahraini security forces while condemning such abuses in Libya and Yemen has undermined any credibility it had with Bahrainis.
German human right groups have time and again complained that Berlin has been publicly mum amid reports that Bahrain's Sunni-led government was waging a violent and bloody crackdown — destroying Shiite mosques, illegally detaining and torturing dissidents, attacking medical personnel to prevent them from treating wounded protesters and abusing women and girls.
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