The story goes like this – three citizens were found guilty by a court of
killing two Bahraini police officers and an Emirati officer. They were given
the death sentence by the court of cassation after exhaustive trial
proceedings in the presence of the defendants' lawyers, and after their
statements were heard in accordance with court rulings that are in line with
internationally accepted procedures. After that, the customary party attended
by international organisations and human rights groups began.
These parties have become dull, repetitive and routine and they do not bring
anything new, even if they are supported by states and governments, in light
of the west's coarse human rights awakening whose influence has started to
erode and is no longer what it was. This is not because people do not believe
in the role of organisations in consolidating human rights that are violated,
but because these same people are sick of the blatant politicisation of these
organisations, the lack of effective standards that determine their reactions
and their disparity when it comes to dealing with issues.
Since the events of February 2011, Bahrain has been the target of a fierce
Western campaign that organisations, bodies, governments and, unfortunately,
regional states have been involved in. However, it has managed to overcome the
effects of the crisis gradually and successfully. The tolerance that it has
displayed exceeds that of well-established states that experienced similar
crises and confronted them with violence and repression. Instead of helping
Bahrain achieve success with its project of reformation which ironically began
ten years before the Arab Spring, the attack against Bahrain was fierce and
everyone except its real friends abandoned it. However, this did not prevent
the kingdom from overcoming the toughest crisis in its history and proving its
unique ability to become stronger than it was.
Earlier this month, an attack on a prison in Bahrain led to the escape of ten
convicted prisoners who were convicted of serious crimes. The well planned
operation in which sophisticated weapons were used and a guard was killed is
considered new evidence that what Bahrain is facing is bigger than can be
imagined. There are many signs that innocent people are being exploited in
cells supported by Iran that do not just pose a great danger to Bahrain's
stability, but also to the stability of the entire region. Attempting to
isolate events such as these from the full picture of what is happening in
Bahrain is a violation of human rights unless the victims are not human
beings!
Unfortunately, the political exploitation of human rights issues often defeats
their fundamental aim and turns these issues into an arena for political
attraction instead of being an arena purely for human rights in Bahrain. In
Bahrain, for example, instead of these international organisations carrying
out their roles to deepen the necessary concepts, stopping any potential
violations, assisting in the review of policies, practices and legislation and
bringing them closer to international standards, we find that the whole issue
turns into abusing Bahrain politically. We also find that this abuse is based
on false information and suspicious sources; in the recent incident, coverage
focussed on the execution of the three defendants and ignored the rights of
the three victims and their families. 25 Bahraini police men have been killed
and 3,800 individuals have been injured in clashes with demonstrators since
2011. Don't they have rights? Shouldn't their killers be held accountable?
Salman Aldosary is the editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
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