AhlulBayt News Agency - The US State Department spokesperson, John Kirby, said that Bahrain is an important partner in the region, refusing to go into the details of the human rights violations mentioned in the report issued by the US State Department on the human rights situation, stressing more than once that he values the "very, very strong relationship with Bahrain."
Kirby was asked questions about the human rights situation in Bahrain during the daily press conference held in the State Department of State building on Thursday (June 25, 2015). Responding to the question about the US role in terms of trying to influence Bahrain to basically adhere to the standards mentioned in the human rights report, he said: "Without going into the findings of the Human Rights Report, Bahrain is an important partner in the region.
As you know, they host our Navy's Fifth Fleet there as a component of U.S. Central Command. They're a close partner in all manner of security issues in the Gulf region and even beyond. It's safe to say that we've certainly made plain in the past our concerns with respect to some of the way Bahrain has reacted to minority groups and protest activity inside the country. But again, this is not uncommon elsewhere. And again, it's a very, very strong relationship that we continue to value."
Kirby was asked another question that said: "The United States carries a great deal of weight with countries like Bahrain and Egypt and others, yet we have not seen any improvement in these countries since the end - the period that ended last December until today. Could you share with us some of perhaps the improvement that Bahrain may have done between the end of the report last year and now?"
"I'm going to have to deflect that question to those that are monitoring the human rights issue in Bahrain a lot more closely than me. Again, a very important relationship, very important partner, and we continue to engage with them every day, every day," the US State Department Spokesperson replied.
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