Bahrain: Sustained Opposition to Arms Sale

Bahrain: Sustained Opposition to Arms Sale
November 15, 2011 – POMED

In a Washington Post ”Letter to the Editor,” Sanjeev Bery, advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, writes that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “was quick to repeat the Bahraini government’s assurance that it will hold accountable “those who cross lines in responding to civil unrest” during her recent speech at the National Democratic Institute. Meanwhile, Bery points out that “no one in the Bahraini government has been prosecuted for the many shooting deaths of protesters, and no one is being held accountable for countless allegations of torture. While an investigation is underway, the real question is whether there will be accountability for those who pulled the trigger — and for those who may have given the orders to do so.”

A report entitled “Accessory to Murder? US Weapons in Bahrain and the Coming Arms Sale” examines visual footage of what author Bill Marczak claims are American weapons being used in the February crackdown by the Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF). Marczak offers suggestions for the U.S. government, the policy community, and the general public, including encouraging the Department of Defense to pursue an End-Use Monitoring (EUM) investigation into supplies sold by the U.S. to Bahrain. He also suggests that if the BICI report does not “adequately address” the topic of the BDF’s suppression of protests, the State Department should carry out its own investigation. Lastly, U.S. citizens should encourage their representatives to sign onto H.J. Res. 80 and S.J.Res. 28, joint resolutions in the House and Senate that limit a proposed arms sale to Bahrain. …source