{"id":11633,"date":"2021-01-22T10:05:44","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T10:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adhrb.org\/?p=23406"},"modified":"2021-01-22T10:05:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T10:05:44","slug":"open-letter-to-president-biden-on-bahrain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/22\/open-letter-to-president-biden-on-bahrain\/","title":{"rendered":"Open letter to President Biden on Bahrain"},"content":{"rendered":"
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) Executive Director Husain Abdulla sent a letter to President Joseph Biden on making human rights and democratization as priority of US policy when it comes to US-Bahrain relations. The full letter<\/a> (PDF version):<\/div>\n
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January 20, 2021<\/p>\n

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.<\/p>\n

The White House<\/p>\n

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW<\/p>\n

Washington, DC\u00a0 20500<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. President:<\/p>\n

I am writing to extend my most sincere congratulations to you as you assume the office of President.\u00a0 I encourage you from your very first day in office to review and revise US policy on one of the most pressing and intertwined human right and national security challenges facing the United States, the Kingdom of Bahrain.<\/p>\n

I had to leave my home country of Bahrain over twenty years ago, fleeing an oppressive government where freedom of expression and peaceful dissent did not have a place. While I was able to enjoy all the freedoms and benefits of democracy that America offers, my people in Bahrain are still suffering under a brutal dictatorship.<\/p>\n

The situation in Bahrain represents a serious and ongoing violation of human rights that should be intolerable to the United States under any circumstances.\u00a0 However, the political instability created within Bahrain by the systematic, violent, and unceasing repression of its people is also a direct threat to US security interests in the Persian Gulf Region and globally.\u00a0 Improvements in human rights in Bahrain are directly linked to US security interests and should be pursued as a priority by the Biden Administration, including through multilateral institutions.<\/p>\n

The human rights violations perpetrated by the Government of Bahrain are undisputed.\u00a0 The US State Department reports an ongoing litany of abuses by the Government of Bahrain, including allegations of torture, arbitrary detention, political prisoners, and restrictions on freedom of expression and political participation. \u00a0Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights groups have identified thousands of individuals who have been arrested, imprisoned, executed, fined, or otherwise repressed by the Government of Bahrain.\u00a0 Hundreds of Bahrainis have had their citizenship revoked and thousands of political prisoners languish in Bahraini prisons.\u00a0 Men, women, the elderly, and children as young as 12-years-old have been targeted by the government of Bahrain.<\/p>\n

However, current US policy to Bahrain largely turns a blind eye to repression of human rights and deep-seeded social instability in Bahrain due to the mutual benefits the two countries enjoy based on the location of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.\u00a0 These benefits are also indisputable, but maintaining a one-dimensional relationship with Bahrain builds untenable security risks into the relationship for the US.\u00a0 These risks can be substantially reduced or eliminated by if Bahrain begins a path that includes an end to political repression, including release of all political prisoners, accountability for human rights violators, and a path to free and fair elections.\u00a0 If Bahrain continues its human rights violations, the US should consider relocating the Fifth Fleet to a more suitable location.<\/p>\n

For the security of both countries, the US should immediately begin to develop policies and programs focused on holding officials of the Government of Bahrain accountable for their systematic human rights violations against the people of Bahrain, to meeting its commitments to international human rights standards, and repairing the damage caused by a decade of brutal repression.\u00a0 This path will strengthen the relationship and security interests of the two countries and enhance Bahrain\u2019s status as a sustainable, dependable, and desirable ally and partner of the US.\u00a0 It will also visibly reinforce the American commitment to universal human rights at a time when this is needed around the globe.<\/p>\n

I am confident that through development of a more mature, holistic US policy toward Bahrain, the US will be able to uphold its commitment to human rights while not only maintaining, but enhancing, its national security interests in the Persian Gulf Region, and globally.\u00a0 I ask that you conduct a thorough review of US policy and develop and implement a set of policies and programs toward Bahrain targeted at better achieving sustainable US interests in both human rights and security.\u00a0\u00a0 At a minimum, this plan should include:<\/p>\n