Professor Saleh: West turns blind eye to Bahraini rights

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Human rights activists have criticized the Queen of England for inviting “blood-stained dictators” to celebrations marking her 60th year on the throne.Inviting the tyrant ruler of Bahrain, Hamad Al Khalifa, to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee lunch at Windsor has created controversy among human rights activists in Britain.Some analysts believe the Queen’s invitation along with supplying the Al-Khalifa regime with arms sends this message that the British monarchy approves human rights abuses.Interview with Mohsen Saleh, professor at the Lebanese University, to hear his opinion on this issue.The following is a rough transcription of the interview.Q: What comes to mind is with the continue of human rights violations that are occurring in Bahrain on a daily basis, how is it that the international community are welcoming members of the Al Khalifa family as we know specially the crown prince we know recently visited Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington?Saleh: Well it is about time for the Arab people to understand that the British or the Americans won’t use any support for their problems and for their issues and the American administration and the British also as well.On the contrary they use all their power in order to support these regimes oligarchy, oppression and tyranny and if they say they are supporting the human rights and the rights of the humans to express their minds and the social justice, they are lying and they use this hypocrisy from at least two years.And now they really unveil their ugly faces by welcoming this king whose hands are stained by the Bahrainis blood and also by oppressing his people if he is responsible about these people.But the Bahrainis want freedom and want independence from Saudi Arabia and from the British colony.These Khalifa family [members] are the sons and the agents of the British kingdom and of the Saudis and of course of the Americans because they hegemonize all the region and they want to keep this oligarchy in the ruling places.Q: Now in your opinion would you say that freedom is [what] the Bahraini people are looking for, would you say is the international community turning a blind eye to the suppression occurring against the people of Bahrain because of the ties between these countries-- the US, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain?Saleh: Well this needless to say, that is well-known for the Bahrainis and for the Saudis, the Saudi people in the eastern part and inside also and for the Arabs in Egypt or in Syria. Everybody knows that these Western powers they look for their interests and they do not love the people. They hate democracy if it is been to be implemented in this region.And I guess in doing so they are really paving the way for these oligarchy families and for tyranny and they deviate from the truth that one day asked for freedom and democracy. They do not do that. They have a blind eye if they are looking to the rights of the people.The people [are] fed up with these slogans from the West and at the same time they support by arms and they support by media and they do not talk about the human rights in their media.On the contrary, they really blackened this area of human activities. Look at the Bahrainis, they have been marching for more than one year and two, three months and the British and the Americans they do not say anything.On the contrary, they support this regime in spite of all its atrocities and putting the people, imprisoning the people and of course Bahrain now is a great prison for the Khalifa and for the British colony.Q: Now Mr. Saleh if we look at the other aspect of it, the UN Human Rights Council, the national Periodic Review at MPR will be reviewing Bahrain situation on May 21th.In your opinion what would be the outcome of this meeting since back in 2008 they had the same meeting and found human rights violations with the country almost four years ago, what would be the outcome this time?Saleh: Well these reports, we have heard and read many reports at the human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and in Bahrain and still these what so-called super powers, the Western powers, they support the Saudi regime and the Bahraini regime.We do not see any kind of practical behavior from EU and organizations towards these regimes-- for example boycotting them or asking them to do reforms in their country.On the contrary they turn a blind eye when they talk to these people, only black words on white papers without doing any pressure on this country.That is why the Bahrainis are continuing and of course will have the support of the Arabs and the Islamic world soon and soon enough because this so-called unity between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not succeed and the Bahrainis and the Saudi people will continue their march in order to get their freedom and their justice. /129