[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 149 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6347-S6348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN:
  S.J. Res. 28. A joint resolution limiting the issuance of a letter of 
offer with respect to a certain proposed sale of defense articles and 
defense services to the Kingdom of Bahrain; to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a Congressional 
Joint Resolution to prevent the sale of $53 million worth of arms to 
the Government of Bahrain.
  As I witness the series of extraordinary events that are sweeping 
across the Arab world, I am reminded of our own history, and America's 
struggle that led to the ideas that are enshrined in our Constitution. 
Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right of people to 
peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of 
grievances. The Arab Spring, reminds us that these freedoms are indeed 
universally sought.
  The United States should stick up for individuals seeking such 
freedoms. not reward those who violently suppress such aspirations.
  Selling weapons to the Government of Bahrain right now is about as 
backwards as a teacher giving the playground bully a pair of brass 
knuckles instead of putting him in detention. When the rulers of 
Bahrain are committing human right abuses against peaceful protesters, 
should we really be rewarding this type of behavior?
  First, some context. Protests erupted in Bahrain on the heels of 
protests in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, as part of what is being 
called the Arab Spring. For many years the Shiite majority of Bahrain 
has been ruled by a Sunni royal family that has excluded most Shiites 
from political power and economic opportunity. When the people of 
Bahrain went to the streets to protest, the government responded with 
crushing force. Police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators, killing 
seven and seriously wounding hundreds. Protestors and dissident leaders 
were rounded up and arrested.
  It is estimated that 30 people have been killed by government 
security forces since the start of these largely peaceful protests. 
Government agencies also fired more than 2,500 people suspected of 
sympathizing with the protestors and their democratic demands. A 
special military court was established by decree and has convicted over 
100 people on dubious grounds.
  Recently, 20 doctors who were caught treating wounded protestors were 
sentenced to prison terms as long as 15 years. One of the doctors said 
she was tortured and threatened with rape while in custody. In 
explaining the reason for her offense, the doctor said ``My only crime 
is I did my job; I helped people.'' Amnesty International has pointed 
out that an increasing number of cases involving civilians arrested are 
now being primarily tried in military court, without due process.
  Human Rights Watch also reports that four people have died in 
custody. Their suspected cause of death is torture, and medical 
neglect. Leading political opposition figures who are demanding 
democratic reforms have been sentenced, in some cases, to life in 
prison, solely for their role in organizing peaceful protests.
  Life in prison just for trying to hold their government 
democratically accountable. Just because they want the same 
opportunities as their Sunni neighbors. Just because they want to 
petition their government for a redress of grievances. I read these 
reports and I ask myself what our own constitutional framers would have 
to say about such actions.
  So what's the Administration's response to Bahrain's actions? What's 
our government's response to these human rights violations? Well, Mr. 
President, the Administration has publicly called for an end to the 
violence. Secretary Clinton has said that the murder of unarmed 
protesters must stop.
  However, at the same time, the Administration formally notified 
Congress on September 14 of its plans to sell the ruling regime of 
Bahrain 44 Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, over 
200 anti-tank missiles and 50 bunker buster missiles, 48 missile 
launchers, spare parts, support and test equipment, personnel training 
and training equipment, technical and logistics support services, among 
other things, all for 53 million dollars. The State Department also 
notified Congress that it is preparing to send $15.5 million in Foreign 
Military Financing to Bahrain.
  Like I said we are giving the bully brass knuckles--and then some.
  Should our country really reward a regime that has stifled its 
citizen's freedom of speech; a regime that has openly fired on 
peacefully assembled protestors; a regime who has tortured doctors for 
simply treating their fellow citizens?
  I cannot support this sale while these abuses continue. That is why 
I, along with my colleague Congressman McGovern in the House of 
Representatives, am introducing this Congressional joint resolution. I 
hope my colleagues will join me in sending a message to Bahrain that we 
will not reward human rights abuses.
  To quote from the President's address to the United Nations General 
Assembly last month: ``Something is happening in our world. The way 
things have been is not the way they will be. The humiliating grip of 
corruption and tyranny is being pried open. Technology is putting power 
in the hands of the people. The youth are delivering a powerful rebuke 
to dictatorship, and rejecting the lie that some races, religions and 
ethnicities do not desire democracy.'' Well it is clear that the people 
of Bahrain desire greater democracy and opportunity and we should not 
be rewarding their oppressors with an arms sale at this time. 
Colleagues, please join me in cosponsoring this Congressional joint 
resolution.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint 
resolution be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the joint resolution was 
ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

                              S.J. Res. 28

       Whereas the Kingdom of Bahrain is a party to several 
     international human rights instruments, including the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted 
     December 16, 1966, and entered into force March 23, 1976, and 
     the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
     Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December 
     10, 1984;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain had made several notable 
     human rights reforms during the 2000s;
       Whereas, despite those reforms, significant human rights 
     concerns remained in early 2011, including the alleged 
     mistreatment of detained persons and the discrimination 
     against certain Bahraini citizens in the political, economic, 
     and professional spheres of Bahrain;
       Whereas this discrimination has included the banning of 
     particular religious groups from holding specific government 
     positions, including the military and security services, 
     without reasonable justification;
       Whereas hundreds of thousands of protesters in the Kingdom 
     of Bahrain have significantly intensified their calls for 
     government reform and respect for human rights starting in 
     February 2011;
       Whereas independent observers, including the Department of 
     State, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Amnesty 
     International, and Freedom House, found that the majority of 
     protesters have been peaceful in their demands, and that acts 
     of violence by protesters have been rare;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has systematically 
     suppressed the protests through a wide range of acts 
     constituting serious and grave violations of human rights;
       Whereas, according to the Project of Middle East Democracy, 
     at least 32 people have been killed by the Government of 
     Bahrain's security forces since February 2011;
       Whereas at least three deaths occurred while the 
     individuals were in detention, according to the Ministry of 
     Interior of the Government of Bahrain;
       Whereas there have been credible reports from Human Rights 
     Watch, Human Rights

[[Page S6348]]

     First, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Bahrain Center 
     for Human Rights of severe mistreatment of detainees, 
     including acts rising to the level of torture;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has investigated and 
     prosecuted individuals who were only peacefully exercising 
     their rights to freedom of expression, political opinion, and 
     assembly;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has continued to 
     prosecute civilians, including medical professionals, in 
     military-security courts;
       Whereas cases continued to be tried in the military-
     security courts despite promises by the Government of Bahrain 
     to transfer those cases to civilian venues;
       Whereas the military-security courts' procedures and 
     actions severely limited due process rights or complied with 
     due process formally rather than substantively;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain's recent promises to have 
     civilian courts hear the appeals from military-security 
     courts are insufficient to rectify the due process violations 
     that occurred at the trial stage;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has moved quickly to 
     prosecute and sentence political opponents to lengthy prison 
     terms, while at the same time slowly investigating, or 
     failing to investigate at all, government and security 
     officials who appear to have committed or assisted in human 
     rights violations against political opponents;
       Whereas Physicians for Human Rights has documented that the 
     Government of Bahrain's security forces have targeted medical 
     personnel by abducting medical workers, abusing patients, 
     intimidating wounded protesters from accessing medical 
     treatment, and sentencing medical professionals to lengthy 
     prison terms in the military-security courts for protesting 
     the government's interference in treating injured protesters;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has destroyed more than 
     40 Shi'a mosques and religious sites throughout Bahrain since 
     February 2011;
       Whereas Bahrain's legislative lower house, the Council of 
     Representatives (Majlis an-nuwab) is constituted of 
     disproportionately drawn districts that violates the 
     principle of equal suffrage for Bahraini citizens, 
     particularly the Shi'a community;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain employed tactics of 
     retribution against perceived political opponents, dismissing 
     more than 2,500 workers, academics, medics, and other 
     professionals from their places of employment;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has violated 
     international labor standards through the dismissals of the 
     aforementioned citizens;
       Whereas the Department of Labor has received an official 
     complaint regarding the failure of the Government of Bahrain 
     to live up to its commitments with respect to workers' rights 
     under its Free Trade Agreement with the United States;
       Whereas the state-run media of Bahrain have gone beyond 
     legitimate criticism of political opponents towards 
     explicitly and implicitly threatening the physical safety and 
     integrity of those opponents specifically and the Shi'a 
     community generally, creating greater animosity amongst the 
     entire population and making reconciliation of all Bahraini 
     citizens more difficult;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has expelled 
     international journalists and stopped issuing visas to 
     journalists on grounds that do not appear to be justified by 
     legitimate safety or security concerns;
       Whereas the Department of State included Bahrain among a 
     list of countries necessitating additional human rights 
     scrutiny in a June 15, 2011, submission to the United Nations 
     Human Rights Council;
       Whereas the Government of Bahrain has taken limited 
     positive measures in recent months, including agreeing to 
     allow the establishment of the Bahrain Independent Commission 
     of Inquiry (BICI) composed of well-renowned international 
     human rights experts who are authorized to investigate human 
     rights violations and recommend measures for accountability;
       Whereas the BICI human rights report is due to be submitted 
     to the Government of Bahrain on October 30, 2011;
       Whereas the Department of Defense notified Congress on 
     September 14, 2011, of a proposed military arms sale to 
     Bahrain worth approximately $53,000,000;
       Whereas the Department of State notified Congress on 
     September 13, 2011, of a proposed obligation of Foreign 
     Military Funds in the amount of $15,461,000 for the upgrading 
     and maintenance of certain military equipment;
       Whereas other military allies of the United States, 
     including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Belgium, 
     have suspended or limited certain licenses and arms sales to 
     Bahrain since February 2011;
       Whereas evidence gathered from protesters by the Bahrain 
     Center for Human Rights indicated that tear gas canisters 
     used against peaceful protesters contained markings which 
     showed they were manufactured in the United States; and
       Whereas providing military equipment and provisions for 
     upgrades to a government that commits human rights violations 
     and that has undertaken insufficient measures to seek reform 
     and accountability is at odds with United States foreign 
     policy goals of promoting democracy, human rights, 
     accountability, and stability: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PROPOSED SALES OF DEFENSE 
                   ARTICLES AND DEFENSE SERVICES TO THE KINGDOM OF 
                   BAHRAIN.

       (a) Limitation.--The issuance of a letter of offer with 
     respect to each proposed sale of defense articles and defense 
     services to the Kingdom of Bahrain referred to in subsection 
     (b) is hereby prohibited unless the Secretary of State 
     certifies to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
     and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives that--
       (1) the Government of Bahrain is conducting good faith 
     investigations and prosecutions of alleged perpetrators 
     responsible for the killing, torture, arbitrary detention, 
     and other human rights violations committed since February 
     2011;
       (2) the prosecutions of alleged perpetrators in paragraph 
     (1) is being carried out in transparent judicial proceedings 
     conducted in full accordance with Bahrain's international 
     legal obligations;
       (3) the Government of Bahrain has ceased all acts of 
     torture and other inhumane treatment in its detention 
     facilities;
       (4) the Government of Bahrain has released and withdrawn 
     criminal charges against all individuals who were peacefully 
     exercising their right to freedom of expression, political 
     opinion, and assembly;
       (5) the Government of Bahrain is permitting 
     nondiscriminatory medical treatment of the sick and injured, 
     and is ensuring unhindered access to medical care and 
     treatment for all patients;
       (6) the Government of Bahrain is protecting all Shi'a 
     mosques and religious sites and is rebuilding all Shi'a 
     mosques and religious sites destroyed since February 2011;
       (7) the Government of Bahrain has redrawn the districts of 
     the Council of Representatives (Majlis an-nuwab) in a 
     proportional manner that allots the same number of residents, 
     or reasonably nearly the same number of residents with 
     minimal variation, for each district;
       (8) the Government of Bahrain has lifted restrictions on 
     government employment, including in the military and security 
     forces, based on discriminatory grounds such as religion and 
     political opinion;
       (9) the Government of Bahrain has reinstated all public and 
     government-invested enterprises' employees who were dismissed 
     from their workplace for peacefully exercising their right to 
     freedom of expression, political opinion, and assembly;
       (10) the Government of Bahrain has set standards for 
     private sector compliance covering the reinstatement of its 
     employees who were dismissed from their workplace for 
     peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression, 
     political opinion, and assembly;
       (11) the Government of Bahrain is protecting the right of 
     all individuals, including political opponents of the 
     Government, to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of 
     expression, political opinion, and assembly without fear of 
     retribution;
       (12) the Government of Bahrain has ceased using the media 
     under its control to threaten the physical safety and 
     integrity of political opponents and other Bahraini citizens, 
     particularly those in the Shi'a community;
       (13) the Government of Bahrain is permitting the entry of 
     international journalists to Bahrain except in extremely 
     exceptional cases where the Government clearly shows with 
     evidence and in good faith that the entry of an international 
     journalist is a legitimate safety or security concern;
       (14) the Bahrain Commission of Inquiry (BICI) has submitted 
     its final report to the Government of Bahrain;
       (15) the BICI's final report's factual findings and 
     conclusions are consistent with information known to the 
     Secretary of State about the human rights violations 
     occurring in Bahrain since February 2011;
       (16) the Government of Bahrain is undertaking good faith 
     implementation of all recommendations from the BICI's final 
     report that address alleged human rights violations by the 
     Government of Bahrain since February 2011; and
       (17) the Government of Bahrain has undertaken a good faith 
     dialogue among all key stakeholders in Bahrain which is 
     producing substantive recommendations for genuine reforms 
     that meet the reasonable democratic aspirations of Bahrain's 
     citizens and comply with universal human rights standards.
       (b) Proposed Sales of Defense Articles and Defense 
     Services.--The proposed sales of defense articles and defense 
     services to the Government of Bahrain referred to in this 
     subsection are those specified in the certifications 
     transmitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
     and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate pursuant to section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b)) on September 14, 2011 (Transmittal 
     Number 10-71).

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