The United States said on Monday it was resuming security aid to Bahrain’s military forces, citing “meaningful progress” on human rights four years after the kingdom’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters.
“The administration has decided to lift the holds on security assistance to the Bahrain Defense Force and National Guard that were implemented following Bahrain’s crackdown on demonstrations in 2011,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said, AFP reported.
“While we do not think that the human rights situation in Bahrain is adequate ... we believe it is important to recognize that the government of Bahrain has made some meaningful progress on human rights reforms and reconciliation.”
US officials did not specify what weaponry or security equipment or systems would be transferred to Bahrain, but they did stress that, apart from items that meet a clear counterterrorism need, the US “will maintain restrictions on security sales to the Bahrain Ministry of Interior.”
Washington says the ministry “bore the preponderance of responsibility for government abuses in 2011,” according to State Department officials.
“We will lift this restriction as we determine that the government has taken additional, significant steps to improve MOI accountability and its treatment of detainees.”
Bad Deal
Reaction from human rights groups was swift. US rights monitor Human Rights First condemned the decision, calling it a “major blow” to efforts to pressure Bahrain to implement human rights reform.
“There is no way to dress this up as a good move,” said the group’s spokesman Brian Dooley. “It’s bad for Bahrain, bad for the region and bad for the US.”
He noted that the Shia-majority Bahrain’s military was almost exclusively Sunni and expressed concern at increased sectarianism in the region.
At least 89 people have been killed in confrontations with Bahrain security forces since 2011, while hundreds have been arrested and put on trial, rights groups say.
Sarah Margon, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, also slammed the decision.
“The Obama administration’s decision to lift restrictions on security assistance to Bahrain’s Defense Forces and National Guard is occurring in the absence of any real or meaningful political reform.”
Protesters continue to clash frequently with security forces in Shia villages outside Manama.
Bahrain has been rocked by unrest since security forces crushed Shia-led protests in 2011 demanding a constitutional system and an elected prime minister.
On June 20, Bahrain released a Sunni opposition leader, Ibrahim Sharif, who was jailed more than four years for involvement in the anti-government demonstrations.
Sharif had played a prominent role in the monthlong protests and was later among a group of 20 activists tried for plotting to overthrow Bahrain’s rulers.
The release came four days after a Bahrain court jailed prominent Shia opposition leader Ali Salman for four years for “inciting disobedience and hatred” in the kingdom.
Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, is seen as a vital partner in the international coalition against the extremist Islamic State group that controls significant portions of Iraq and Syria.
