[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 52 (Friday, March 19, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF BAHRAIN'S PEACEFUL PROTESTS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 19, 2021

  Mr. McGovern. Madam Speaker, last month marked the tenth anniversary 
of peaceful protests that spurred great hope for change in Bahrain, 
only to have those hopes dashed.
  On February 14, 2011, thousands of Bahrainis took to the streets in 
peaceful protests throughout the country to call for democratization 
and social and economic reform.
  Bahraini security forces attacked the peaceful protesters, first with 
pepper spray and flash-bangs, then with rubber bullets and finally with 
shotguns.
  The protesters remained peaceful, and in the days that followed, the 
protests grew.
  The Pearl Roundabout in the capital city, Manama, became the hub with 
hundreds camping there and sharing food.
  Then came ``Bahrain Bloody Thursday.''
  At about 4:00 a.m. on February 17, 2011, while protesters including 
women and children were sleeping, security forces stormed the area with 
tear gas. They threw stun grenades and fired shot guns at the terrified 
people.
  Bahraini and international media were attacked.
  Paramedics and ambulance drivers who responded were also reportedly 
attacked and told not to help injured protesters.
  Four protesters were killed and as many as 300 were injured.
  Hundreds were detained, including medical personnel, and the police 
pursued others to nearby villages to arrest them as well.
  Following ``Bahrain Bloody Thursday,'' Nicholas Kristof wrote in the 
New York Times, ``When a king opens fire on his people, he no longer 
deserves to be ruler.''
  As leaders from around the world condemned the violence, it seemed at 
first that the door to reform had been opened. The King's acceptance of 
the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry 
kept hope alive for quite some time.
  But ten years later little has changed for the Bahraini people.
  I welcomed the release of Nabeel Rajab in June 2020, who spent nearly 
eight of the past nine years imprisoned for peaceful protest and 
criticizing government policies.
  But many prisoners of conscience remain behind bars, and it is well 
past time to release everyone else imprisoned for exercising their 
fundamental rights. These include human rights defenders Dr. Abduljalil 
Al-Singace, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, Ahmed Humaidan, and Naji Fateel, and 
Sheikh Ali Salman.
  Brave human rights and opposition leaders continue to call for the 
release of prisoners, accountability for grave human rights violations, 
and political reform.
  Madam Speaker, the people of Bahrain have been waiting ten long years 
for a sign that the arc of justice is bending toward them.
  I am tremendously heartened by statements made by Biden 
Administration officials confirming that the U.S. commitment to human 
rights will be reflected in our foreign policy. We cannot serve as a 
beacon of hope while turning a blind eye to human rights violations.
  What should that mean when it comes to Bahrain? Here are some ideas.
  The U.S. should pause arms sales to Bahrain.
  The Department of Defense should develop a contingency plan for 
relocating the U.S. 5th Fleet out of Bahrain.
  The Administration should make full use of Global Magnitsky 
authorities to sanction Bahraini officials who are known to have 
committed terrible human rights abuses and have suffered no 
consequences for their actions. Accountability must return to the 
bilateral agenda.
  The State Department should work for the release of all prisoners of 
conscience. And the State Department should put reforms back on the 
bilateral agenda. What reforms are we talking about?
  To start with, the Bahraini government should: end the prohibition on 
political societies, decriminalize all speech, allow national and 
international press to operate without state intervention, stop 
rendering its citizens stateless, strip the National Security Agency of 
its power to arrest, bring its anti-terrorism legislation into line 
with international human rights standards, integrate its security 
forces, and end discrimination against the majority Shi'a population 
everywhere it exists.
  Taking these steps would not transform Bahrain into a democracy. But 
they would go some way toward improving the country's domestic human 
rights situation.
  I look forward to working with the Biden Administration on these and 
other ideas to make sure that U.S. policy toward Bahrain truly protects 
the human rights of the Bahraini people--and therefore truly 
contributes to America's security.

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