US, UK, Russia fuel misery and brutality by weapons profiteering in the Middle East

Rights groups say situation in flashpoint country is being ignored while ‘commercial interests’ are put first

UK accused of ‘double standards’ over weapons exports to Bahrain
30 March, 2012 – The Independent – Alistair Dawber

A Bahraini human rights organisation has issued a stinging rebuke of Western governments and their attitudes to what it describes as a desperate situation in the country, saying that many are putting commercial interests ahead of human rights.

On Wednesday, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) was among the winners at the Index for Censorship awards ceremony, and yesterday it reiterated its case that the situation in the tiny Gulf state was being ignored.

“It is largely about arms sales,” said Maryam Al-Khawaja, head of the BCHR’s international operations. “The West is guilty of double standards. The US, UK and France attack Russia for providing weapons to Syria, but that’s exactly what they are doing for the Bahrain government; Russia is criticised for a naval base in Syria, but the US has one here.

“How can it be that bodies like the UN intervene in Libya and openly talk about backing those wanting greater freedoms in Syria when the intervention here is on the behalf of those that continue to crack down on these demands?”

In February last year, at the height of the unrest, the British Government said it would review arms exports to Bahrain, which at the time included crowd control measures such as “CS hand grenades, demolition charges, smoke canisters and thunderflashes”.

According to research by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, several licences were granted for arms exports, including in February and March 2011, and during the height of the violence. In April last year, an export licence for “training hand grenades” worth more than £70,000 was issued, and was followed later in the year by licences for the sale of “body armour” “gun silencers” and “weapons sights”. …more