(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Last Wednesday on June 27, British officials held private talks with Bahrain’s Interior Minister, Lt General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa.
At the same time, more than 20 countries produced a statement to the United Nations explaining their concerns about the ongoing human rights abuses taking place south of the Persian Gulf, though Britain refused to sign the statement.
The British government is a “long-standing ally” of Bahrain as it wished to share political knowledge with the Bahraini minister regarding policies in Northern Ireland.
The junior Foreign Office minister Lord Howell attended the talks in place of the UK Foreign Secretay William Hague, but Hague was criticized yesterday on June 30 for failing to condemn Bahrain’s treatment of the opposition.
Private talks with the Bahraini government will spring arguments over Britain’s response to Bahrain’s situation, after King Hamad al-Khalifa was hosted by the UK Queen for her Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Windsor.
Concerns have also been raised about the presence of senior members of Bahrain’s ruling family attending the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, the former Labour Foreign Office minister and MP Denis MacShane expressed concerns over Hague’s policies on human rights, saying, "This is a sad example of William Hague's double standards on human rights. He is highly selective which regimes that torture, kill or crush democracy he chooses to criticise.”
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source : Press TV
Monday
2 July 2012
3:46:00 AM
326177
Britain’s Foreign Office entertains Bahrain’s ruling family while the international community condemns the Bahraini regime for its brutal repression inflicted on the opposition, online reports confirm.