Activist lambasts NGOs for making fake outcry

Manama

Taking a potshot at an NGO’s statement that the US decision to resume military aid to Bahrain was a bad move for Bahrain, the region and the US, former Parliamentarian and Human Rights activist Al Saati said that the criticism was unrealistic and non-practical. He also alleged that the NGOs were working on their own agendas and not for the benefit of the country. 

The US State Department announced yesterday that it was resuming security aid to Bahrain’s military forces as there had been “meaningful progress” on the human rights situation in the Kingdom.

Speaking to DT News, he said: “They are making brouhaha based on the false information. They don’t have any solid source in Bahrain and their sources are nothing but rumours.”

Lambasting the NGOs, Al Saati said that they wanted to cease the US decision without realizing the deep-rooted mutual relationship between Bahrain and the US. “The US decision is very wise and based on the ground realities. Both the US and the Kingdom should ignore these criticisms.”

He emphasized that Bahrain was a peace loving country and its policies met international standards.

“We had to face a crisis in 2011. But since then the government has made so many reforms and we have come far ahead,” he added.

He said that sanctions on a peaceful country like Bahrain were not logical. “Now the US has made the right decision and it would bring both the countries a step closer.”

The US administration had slapped sanctions on security assistance to the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) and National Guard following Bahrain’s crackdown on demonstrations in 2011.