Bahrain rejects US report on religious freedom

Manama : Bahrain yesterday rejected a statement by the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that accuses Kingdom of discriminating against religious communities. 

Tillerson made the comments at the State Department while releasing the agency’s annual religious freedom report for 2016 on Tuesday. The report, first to be released during the Trump administration, criticises Bahrain, China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Turkey.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Bahrain said the remarks by Tillerson were “inappropriate, disappointing, ill-informed and showed a deep misunderstanding of the facts on the ground”.

The Ministry in the statement called on the State Department to “engage in direct consultations” with the Kingdom for “more accurate and nuanced fact finding, and sophisticated analysis, before commenting on government and society.”

“The history of the Kingdom of Bahrain is characterised by coexistence and religious harmony,” the Ministry said “All of our communities and denominations in Bahrain, including our Shia community, have and continue to serve as prosecutors and judges, journalists and academics, diplomats, military officers, policemen and women, members of the cabinet and parliament, and business persons and students - all of whom put the national interest above all else,” the Ministry added.  

It also noted that any detentions or arrests are undertaken based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity according to the laws of the Kingdom regardless of race, sect, ethnic origin or gender. 

The report, however, failed to address Trump’s attempt this year to temporarily suspend refugee admissions and his decision to impose a lower cap on the number of those admissions. The report states that resettlement is a “vital tool for providing refugees protection.”

Meanwhile, in another development, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing denied the allegations stating: “All Chinese people of all ethnic groups and all regions are fully entitled to religious belief. The so-called report ignores facts.” 

“We see that the United States is not a perfect country either. We urge the US to... manage its own affairs,” Hua added.

Bahrain has been a key ally of the United States for decades and is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.