PRESS TV youtube link: It would not have been the welcome Bahraini dictator Hamad al-Khalifa
would have wanted, the jeers of anti-regime protestors ringing in his
ears as he left an official engagement with British PM David Cameron. It was the third official visit for King Hamad since David Cameron became leader in May 2010.Mohammed
al-Tajir, a human rights lawyer is among those arrested and subjected
to torture for his anti-regime activities in Bahrain. He thinks the dictator's UK visit sends out the wrong message.
The UK government must be aware of the sensitivity surrounding the visit of King Hamad. The meeting between the king and David Cameron was described as low-key.
However, the message would have been clear; the British government seems oddly more concerned with maintaining diplomatic relations with the Al-Khalifa family than the fate of the Bahraini people.
Despite thousands of protestors, being locked up in Bahrain since the start of the country's uprising in February 2011, scores killed, and many missing. Britain remains one of the staunchest supporters of the country's rulers. Why?
At a meeting at the House of Lords to discuss the situation of continued rights violations, this question was posed.
Downing Street has always maintained that the human rights situation in Bahrain is high on the agenda when Cameron meets with King Hamad. They have urged the Bahraini government to implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report as a matter of urgency. This might appear as empty rhetoric to those in Bahrain fighting for reforms.
No comments:
Post a Comment