[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                10TH ANNIVERSARY OF PROTESTS IN BAHRAIN

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, 10 years ago Bahraini citizens joined many 
others across the Middle East in what became known as the Arab Spring, 
an eruption of popular protest and a call for reform and democracy that 
spread across the region.
  In Bahrain, the Arab Spring took the form of peaceful protest. 
Families marched together and protestors gathered in Manama's Pearl 
Roundabout urging the King to grant greater economic and political 
rights, particularly for Bahrain's Shia majority.
  The King could have responded to these peaceful protests with 
dialogue or discussion. He did not. The regime deployed state security 
forces against the demonstrators, unleashing a wave of violence and 
repression.
  Journalists and human rights advocates documented the regime's use of 
tear gas and rubber bullets against the unarmed crowds. Security forces 
beat a number of protestors and arbitrarily detained many more, 
targeting even the physicians who volunteered to tend to the wounded. 
Security forces shot one young protestor, Ali Mushaima, in the back, 
killing him.
  Bahrain's authorities made clear that day that they had no intention 
of conducting a meaningful dialogue or adopting significant reforms. 
They have held to that position for the last decade.
  Even the Trump administration, which made no secret of its desire to 
downplay or overlook human rights abuses, documented in its most recent 
human rights report Bahrain's ongoing ``restrictions on freedom of 
expression, the press, and the internet, including censorship, site 
blocking, and criminal libel; substantial interference with the rights 
of peaceful assembly and freedom of association . . . restrictions on 
freedom of movement, including revocation of citizenship; and 
restrictions on political participation, including banning former 
members of al-Wifaq and Wa'ad from running as candidates in 
elections.''
  Bahrain has long been a valued security partner in a volatile region 
of the world. In addition, Bahrain hosts the Navy's 5th Fleet. This is 
precisely why the United States needs to engage Bahrain on these issues 
and to encourage reforms.
  If Bahrainis come to associate the United States with their 
government's cruelty and repression, this security partnership could 
become much less reliable. If the Monarchy were overrun by Bahrainis 
who had come to hate the United States due to our inaction in the face 
of gross human rights abuses, what would happen to our military base 
and the thousands of Americans who live in the country? It is a 
question I think we would all rather not have to answer.
  Mr. President, the Arab Spring of 10 years ago has long since given 
way to an Arab Winter in Bahrain and across much of the Middle East. In 
2011, tens of thousands of Bahrainis took to the streets with hopes of 
a more inclusive and representative society. They are sadly still 
waiting for those hopes to be realized.
  I am heartened that President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken 
have already taken steps to reprioritize human rights as a cornerstone 
of U.S. foreign policy. That must include working to hold our 
adversaries accountable but also speaking hard truths when allies lose 
their way.
  It is with this in mind that on the 10th anniversary of the Arab 
Spring, I call on the Biden-Harris administration to urge Bahrain's 
King to release political prisoners, including human rights defenders 
and members of the political opposition, and to engage them in a 
credible dialogue about a more inclusive future for all Bahrainis.

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