Political Quotes

“this month marks 5 years since Bahrainis of all backgrounds took to the streets in Manama in peaceful protest, calling for reform in their country. As Senators have heard me recount here before, the Government of Bahrain responded with violence and repression, torture and retaliation. In response, the monarchy set up an independent commission: the so-called Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, or BICI. And I say this is important to recall because many of the BICI's 26 specific, concrete recommendations remain unfulfilled 5 years later. That certainly isn't what the government of Bahrain wants you to believe. In fact, the regime's representatives continue to insist that they have fully implemented all of the BICI recommendations. As they tell it, they have turned the page on that chapter of Bahrain's history. But members of Bahrain's peaceful opposition feel trapped in a never- ending story. Nongovernmental organizations like Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, Amnesty International, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, and the Project on Middle East Democracy have all documented the regime's ongoing repression. The State Department's most recent annual human rights report for Bahrain states that protestors face ``arbitrary deprivation of life,'' ``arrest and detention of protesters . . .…”