The crisis in Bahrain has seldom makes the headlines, allowing the Al Khalifa monarchy to crack down and slash at the opposition. On June 16 Sheikh Ali Salman, a prominent Bahraini scholar and political figure, was handed a four-year prison sentence. The silence of the world and particularly the U.S. to this act of injustice is frustrating to ordinary Bahrainis, who watch the world condemn rulers in Syria without a mention of Bahrain.
Last week the State Department announced the resumption of arm sales to Bahrain after a four-year ban. Since the ban in 2011 human rights in Bahrain has deteriorated. More disturbing was the justification of the U.S. lifting the embargo -- that the dictatorial monarch has made progress on human rights reforms. This is far from true, according to an Amnesty International document stating Bahrainis are being tortured, kidnapped, sexually harassed and assaulted, villages and houses are being raided, and religious and historical monuments are being demolished.
Resuming the sale of lethal weapons which can be used against the demonstrators is a misuse of America's influence to bring positive change to the human rights situation. The State Department decision is counterproductive to the democracy in the Arab world. The only demands of the Bahraini protesters are freedom of expression, release of political prisoners, free and fair elections, and removal of the troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. However, the U.S. remains silent because Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Mohammed Khaku
Allentown