Fears for Safety of BCHR President
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
July 23rd, 2008
Hamad Bin Issa Alkhalifa, the King of Bahrain, warned Bahraini societies, associations or individuals against any external allegiances. Addressing editors-in-chief (of local newspapers) at Al Safriya Palace, the king said: “We will never be a vassal state, accepting foreign agendas,”…”Parties loyal to foreign agendas will be laid bare, sooner or later,” he warned, stressing the need to learn from past mistakes. He rejected maneuvers by foreign countries to impose their agendas on Bahrain[i].
Fears for Safety of BCHR President
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
July 23rd, 2008
Hamad Bin Issa Alkhalifa, the King of Bahrain, warned Bahraini societies, associations or individuals against any external allegiances. Addressing editors-in-chief (of local newspapers) at Al Safriya Palace, the king said: “We will never be a vassal state, accepting foreign agendas,”…”Parties loyal to foreign agendas will be laid bare, sooner or later,” he warned, stressing the need to learn from past mistakes. He rejected maneuvers by foreign countries to impose their agendas on Bahrain[i].
“We have a long experience with the colonization powers, which we had enough of, but there are still marginal efforts to bring Bahrain to its past state” the king added. He was more specific when he said: “the source of spreading doubts is those whom we pardoned after being in exile[ii]”..“We hear clearly on daily basis fake cries for help directed to the west. I say to these who face these cries: have you not seen “Abu-Graib” prison (in Iraq)? Who administrated that prison? Do you think that those people will give you a priority in their agenda?”
Based on the aforementioned, the BCHR is concerned for the safety of its President, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who could be the main target of the king’s threats. Alkhawaja was among many Bahrainis who were pardoned to come back from exile in 2001 and one of few who are engaged in reporting human rights violations to the different international mechanisms. Last month, Alkhawaja delivered an oral statement in Geneva at the meeting of the United Nation Human Rights Council addressing violations of civil and political rights in Bahrain including the overwhelming influence of the King and members of his family in political and economic life. Worth mentioning, in the past few years, the BCHR has organized a campaign in the United States, Brussels and the United Kingdom and has participated actively in Geneva in many of the United Nation mechanisms in relation to the implementation of International human rights conventions and the Universal Periodic Review.
The BCHR considers the warns and threats against human rights activists as a part of an intimidation and crackdown campaign which has escalated since December 2007, as a result of which, scores of activists have been subjected to arbitrary detention, systematic torture, unfair trials and prolonged imprisonment sentences[iii].
The BCHR calls on the Bahrain authorities to put an end to its policy of targeting human rights defenders, accusing them of instigating hatred or committing violence and portraying them as traitors or collaborators with western countries.
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[i] Gulf Daily News – 20 July 2008 [ii] Al-Waqt daily newspaper – 20 July 2008 [iii] Refer to recent reports by; BCHR, Human Rights Watch and Front Line on: www.bahrainrights.org