The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights notes the recent appointment of law firm Patton Boggs as a lobbying group for the Bahraini government in the USA. According to the Washington Intelligence Online Report, the Bahraini authorities have hired the Democrat lobbyists, “essentially to say the Shi’ites are getting a fair shake in Bahrain”.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights notes the recent appointment of law firm Patton Boggs as a lobbying group for the Bahraini government in the USA. According to the Washington Intelligence Online Report, the Bahraini authorities have hired the Democrat lobbyists, “essentially to say the Shi’ites are getting a fair shake in Bahrain”.
“Lobbying is of course a legitimate practice and powerful tool in the American system,” Bahrain Centre for Human Rights President Nabeel Rajab said.
“What concerns us is that the issue the government will be lobbying on – discrimination against the Shia majority in Bahrain – and the approach the Bahraini authorities have taken towards this issue. “This action shows us that the government has full intentions to continue with its policies of sectarian discrimination, marginalization and disenfranchisement of a large percentage of the population.
“Instead of putting money into tackling these problems on a local scale by addressing issues of poverty, the national housing shortage, unemployment and discrimination, the government has chosen to put money into a public relations venture, presumably to cover up these problems in the face of the international community.”
Facts on Sectarian Discrimination in Bahrain (taken from the BCHR Shadow Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination):
+ Discrimination against the Shia is institutionalized at the highest level of government office
+ Although Shia citizens account for at least 70 % of the population, they hold less than 13 % of top ranking positions in Ministries
+ A report revealed in 2006 by former government consultant Dr Salah Al Bander revealed the adoption of a national programme to illegally naturalize Sunnis from tribal groups in the region in order to alter the demographic make-up of Bahrain’s population
+ Permits to establish Shia places of worship are regularly denied
+ The religious national curriculum does not teach about practices and beliefs of Shia Islam
+ In order to maintain sectarian segregation, Shias are denied the right to buy land in certain areas of the country, including the area of Riffa in which most of the ruling family have settled
Although the Bahraini government has ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, it cannot be invoked in Bahraini courts.