In February 2011, people took to the streets in Bahrain in protest for democracy. The crackdown that followed was brutal. Hospitals overflowed with the dead and injured and the prisons filled up.
On the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy movement, the European Center for Democracy and Human Rights held a conference. According to the speakers, the situation in Bahrain is worse now, than before 2011, with hundreds of journalists, human rights defenders and opposition figures still behind bars.
Bahrain's King Hamad in the UAE for a private visit https://t.co/4OL1TucRQu pic.twitter.com/S6z99c5OLk
— The National (@TheNationalNews) February 16, 2021
The US and the UK have military bases in Bahrain. Human rights organizations say both are complicit in the monarchy’s rights abuses, by refusing to exert the influence they obviously have over the monarchy.
Britain’s top military brass were in Manama 5 days before the 2011 crackdown, in which 1,000 Saudi troops, trained and equipped by the UK, backed Bahrain’s security forces. And since then Britain has given Bahrain 6.5 million pounds worth of technical assistance.
Several small-scale demonstrations took place in Bahrain to mark 10 years since the country’s 2011 anti-government uprising, which was later crushed by the authorities in a deadly crackdown. pic.twitter.com/9OXp8mCke2
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) February 15, 2021
Pressure is growing on Westminster to end the collusion, but downing streets damning record proves strategic interests trump human rights concerns every time.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
