U.S. Embassy Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael H. Posner
See a video record of the statement
June 15, 2011
Thank you all for coming. I have welcomed the opportunity to visit Bahrain. I have had a very productive set of meetings with a wide range of Bahraini officials and citizens.
Bahrain is an important partner of the United States. We have a long-standing alliance based on shared political, economic and security interests. Both countries benefit from stability and prosperity here, and from a society where all people are able to express their views peacefully and contribute to the political process.
U.S. Embassy Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael H. Posner
See a video record of the statement
June 15, 2011
Thank you all for coming. I have welcomed the opportunity to visit Bahrain. I have had a very productive set of meetings with a wide range of Bahraini officials and citizens.
Bahrain is an important partner of the United States. We have a long-standing alliance based on shared political, economic and security interests. Both countries benefit from stability and prosperity here, and from a society where all people are able to express their views peacefully and contribute to the political process. It is in this context that President Obama met with the Crown Prince last week in Washington, and welcomed his announcement of the government’s intention to begin a national dialogue on reform in Bahrain next month. The challenge now will be how to initiate a dialogue that involves representative leaders on all sides and to ensure that the dialogue addresses and begins to resolve divisive issues.
I have come here as a friend of Bahrain and the Bahraini people and raised these concerns in the spirit of that friendship. We are mindful of the pressing need here for everyone in this society to begin an engagement that will start to rebuild tolerance, mutual respect and a process for navigating divisions. We understand the difficulty of this task, and we also know that no outsider can make it happen. It is for the Bahraini people to forge their own future. Yet it is important for us that Bahrain, our strategic and political partner, succeeds in this endeavor, and that we provide the Bahraini people and government whatever help we can to assist them in building a peaceful and prosperous future.
The United States and Bahrain — and every other sovereign government in this interconnected age — face constantly evolving security challenges. President Obama and Secretary Clinton have made clear time and again that respect for human rights and pursuit of national security interests are not in conflict; to the contrary, they are best advanced in tandem. This is the message I conveyed here this week — in all my meetings with government officials, NGOs and a wide range of private citizens.
In recent months we have seen a clear link in this region between national stability and security and the ability of governments to meet the legitimate aspirations of their people, including the desire of people everywhere for dignity, justice, economic opportunity, universal human rights and a voice in shaping their own future.
There are several positive developments that have occurred here in recent weeks. We welcome the release of some detainees who were not charged, the restoration of some scholarships, and the reinstatement of a number of employees who were wrongfully dismissed from their jobs. We also welcome the announcement by the government that it will investigate deaths of people in custody, including one case where five prison guards are under investigation. The Government of Bahrain also has promised to investigate allegations of mistreatment of detainees in custody.
On the other hand, we continue to receive reports about some students being expelled from universities and some workers being dismissed merely because they have exercised their political rights. We remain concerned about the continued detention of a number of Bahrainis who have neither been charged nor tried, about the treatment of those people in detention, and about reports that some have been subjected to physical abuse during interrogations. I urge Bahrain to abide by its commitments to transparent judicial proceedings conducted in full accordance with both local law and Bahrain’s international legal obligations. I also expressed my concerns for the government to take tangible steps to rebuild confidence and trust in the medical system.
Meaningful dialogue can only take place in a climate of respect for the freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly — principles articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a number of treaties that Bahrain has ratified. In the coming weeks, all parties here will need to create an appropriate environment for national dialogue, and all parties must participate to forge a just future for this country.
Leadership is also required by the local media and social media. Throughout the world, we have seen how media freedom raises public awareness, identifies problems, opens discussion, and brings problems to light so that corrective action can be taken. We note with concern the arrest and in some cases continued detention of some journalists. In a number of countries around the world, the dissemination of messages of hatred have also had unfortunate consequences and have taken years for societies to heal themselves. Mindful of the peril of misinformation and misuse of media that can exacerbate divisions within society, I urge all responsible parties here to refrain from and denounce hateful speech, which can and often does lead to violence. I emphasize that in order to create positive conditions for national dialogue here , local media and social media must play a constructive role in reconciliation and cease from actions that are divisive or inciting.
I benefitted from my visit here and I look forward to sharing what I have learned with colleagues in Washington and continuing my involvement here in addressing these important issues. I welcome your questions.
U.S. says concerned by Bahrain detentions, urges dialogue
12:54PM ET on Wednesday Jun 15, 2011 by Thomson Reuters
* Posner says concerned over torture claims, detentions
* Atmosphere in Bahrain still tense, divided, Posner says
By Erika Solomon
MANAMA, June 15 (Reuters) – The United States said on Wednesday tensions in Bahrain were very high ahead of a planned national dialogue after weeks of pro-democracy protests and urged the authorities to encourage people to speak out.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, visiting the Bahraini capital, said Washington remained concerned about the detention of Bahrainis without charge and reports of torture during interrogations.
Speaking in Manama, he voiced support for the dialogue proposed by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa but called for transparency during the forthcoming trials of dozens of people charged with illegal activities during this year’s protests.
“We are concerned that the environment be such that every effort be made to encourage participants in the political public process to express their views … and that people not be punished for expressing those views,” he told a news conference.
“There are clearly very high emotions,” Posner said after meeting high-ranking officials and opposition leaders.
Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s regionally strategic Fifth Fleet, quashed weeks of protests in March. It called in troops from neighbouring Gulf Arab countries and imposed emergency law, which it lifted just last week.
Posner, who spent four days in Bahrain, attended the trial on Monday of 48 doctors facing charges ranging from incitement, to storing weapons, to taking over a hospital.
Some of the defendants tried to speak about being tortured into confessions when they pleaded not guilty, but were silenced by the judge.
The government has vowed to investigate claims of torture, and Posner said they reiterated these promises in meetings.
When asked if he discussed a request by the doctors’ lawyers that their defendants be investigated by independent doctors, not military ones, Posner replied: “Those details were part of our discussion, I can’t say there’s a definitive answer.”
Most of the doctors on trial are in detention and rights groups say hundreds more are in police custody without charge.
“We remain concerned about the continued detention of a number of Bahrainis who have neither been charged nor tried, about the treatment of those people in detention, and about reports that some have been subjected to physical abuse during interrogations,” Posner told journalists.
The U.S. role in Bahrain has become a point of contention in Bahraini media, as opposition figures look for stronger support from the United States ahead of planned dialogue in July, and government supporters appear wary of U.S. involvement.
The king wants the national dialogue to start in July and has promised that all subjects would be on the table. Posner urged all sides to embrace the talks.
“I’m cautiously optimistic here,” he said. “I think there’s room for a very constructive process. But it’s going to require energy both on the part of the government and the opposition to make it work.”
Posner, who said he was one of several senior U.S. officials who had visited Bahrain and that more were to come, said Washington was committed to its Gulf Arab ally’s stability and wanted to ensure it took steps to heal divisions that sparked some of the worst unrest in the tiny island kingdom’s history.
“We’re going to stay the course and continue to raise our concerns in a constructive way and encourage all parties to participate in this process of reconciliation,” he said.
Bahrain’s Sunni rulers have said the pro-democracy protests, led mostly by the country’s Shi’ite majority, had a sectarian agenda backed by Shi’ite power Iran.
Pro-government media often carry stories implying the opposition’s leaders take orders from Iran.
The opposition denies these charges, and has accused the government of taking revenge on them through widespread detentions and dismissals, mainly of Shi’ites. Recently, the government began releasing some detainees and has reinstated the jobs of 571 workers. (Editing by Philippa Fletcher)