US Arms Sales to Bahrain Will Only Encourage ‘Repression’ - HRW

On Monday, the US State Department announced that Washington will lift its ban on sending security aid to Bahrain because of progress the Manama government has made on human rights.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The renewal of US military aid to Bahrain would encourage the government in Manama to continue its policy of repression, Human Right Watch Washington Director Sarah Margon said in a press release on Thursday.

“After making the right call to press for the release of high-profile prisoners, the Obama administration’s decision to resume arms sales will only encourage Bahraini authorities’ unrelenting repression,” Margon said.

The United States had previously imposed a ban on security aid following the government’s cracked down on peaceful protesters demanding reforms in 2011, killing dozens and injuring hundreds.

Regarding the alleged progress on human rights issues, Margon stated Bahrain has not held any senior official accountable for 2011 killings of peaceful protestors, and has released only one of 13 jailed members of the opposition.

“Whatever the real reasons for reviving these arms sales, it’s clear that the decision has not been taken in the interest of the people of Bahrain,” Margon said.

She noted, however, the prospect of reform and human rights improvements in Bahrain “are now further away than ever.”

Bahrain is a US ally in the Persian Gulf region and is the home port for the US Fifth Fleet.

Since 2011, the Sunni al-Khalifa regime has been locked in a struggle with an opposition movement led primarily by Shiites, who constitute a majority of the Bahrain’s population.