(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - By Brian Dooley Director, Human Rights Defenders Program, Human Rights FirstWith delicious irony, the Government of Bahrain sent out a press release last week declaring that it “welcomes visits by all human rights organizations,” and that its “open-door policy remains in place” on the same day it sent me a letter saying it wouldn’t let me into the country.
I had been planning to go to Bahrain on January 19 to meet human rights activists and Bahraini government officials, as I have on three previous visits in the last nine months. I told the Bahraini government on December 20 I’d be coming, but it wasn’t until January 11 that it responded, saying my trip must wait until March, when a committee set up to implement reforms will have done its work. I said I’d be happy to go now and in March. No good.
Last week, Rick Sollom from Physicians for Human Rights was turned away when he landed in Bahrain. Authorities told him that “all government officials are under tremendous work pressure” and that he should come back after the end of February when a trip would be “more beneficial.”
These are stiff reminders that the Bahraini government should be judged on its actions, not its words. Denying (rather, “delaying”) access to human rights organizations is a hallmark of repressive regimes. Bahrain already ticked many of those boxes in 2011. Mass arrests? Check. Torture? Check? Deaths in custody? Check. Shootings of civilians? Unfair trials? Attacks on places of worship? Targeting of peaceful dissidents? Check check check check.
Bahrain is ruled by the Al Khalifa family. The king has the power to change the constitution and his family usually has at least half of the cabinet seats. None are elected.
Now the government is telling human rights organizations they can’t come in until March. Not coincidentally, February 14 is the anniversary of the arrival of the Arab Spring in Bahrain, when thousands of people took to the streets. February 14 is likely to see widespread protests and calls for reform. The fear is that the Bahraini regime will respond as it did last year when it launched an astonishingly violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators. Thousands were arrested, there was widespread torture, and several people died in custody. Doctors and others perceived to be on the side of the protestors were given long prison sentences after unfair trials.
Human Rights First and other leading international human rights organizations reported on these violations regularly throughout 2011, and the regime commissioned a team of outside experts to report on what had happened. This Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry released its findings in November along with a list of recommendations to the government. Inevitably, the regime set up yet another committee to look at these recommendations. The committee is supposed to wrap up its work at the end of February—when they say we’ll be allowed in again.
By shutting out those who report on human rights, the regime confirms that its alleged commitment to reform and transparency doesn’t go any deeper than words.
HRF: Bahrain Denies Brian Dooley EntryJanuary 13, 2012
Washington, DC – Bahrain has denied Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley’s request to visit the kingdom next week, a step Dooley notes sends a “terrible signal” to those closely following the Bahraini regime’s crackdown on those fighting for democratic reform. The Government of Bahrain suggested such visits should be delayed until March. The latest denial comes less than two weeks after Bahrain refused to admit Rick Sollom of the U.S.-based nonprofit organization Physicians for Human Rights.
“Bahrain’s decision to block observers from entering the kingdom only suggests its government has something to hide,” Dooley said. “They may talk a good game, but denying or delaying access to human rights organizations undermines their claim to have learned from past mistakes.”
In a letter to Bahrain’s Minister of Human Rights and Social Development, Ms. Fatima Al Balooshi, Dooley wrote that the letter denying him access was surprising given the government’s recent claims that NGOs would have unfettered access. In fact, during a meeting with Minister Al Balooshi and her staff on Nov. 24, Dooley was told that NGOs would be granted access to Bahrain if they gave five days’ notice of their arrival. In addition, on Oct. 21, Bahrain Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa assured Dooley and other observers that NGOs would not be denied access to the kingdom.
In his letter to Minister Al Balooshi Dooley noted. “At the release of the BICI report in November, HRH King Hamad assured the world that ‘any Government which has a sincere desire for reform and progress understands the benefit of objective and constructive criticism,’ and that the day of the report of the BICI report ‘turns a new page of history.’ Delaying or denying access to independent human rights observers runs counter to these statements.”
Dooley has visited Bahrain three times since the uprising began last February and is the author of three reports about the ongoing crackdown. For more information about his work or to schedule a time to speak with him about this latest development, please contact Brenda Bowser Soder at bowsersoderb@humanrightsfirst.org.
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