{"id":3133,"date":"2011-09-18T18:36:46","date_gmt":"2011-09-19T01:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/?p=3133"},"modified":"2011-09-18T18:37:47","modified_gmt":"2011-09-19T01:37:47","slug":"hrw-response-to-delusional-letter-to-editor-at-wp-from-bahrains-ambassador-in-washington-ambassador-is-disconnected-from-reality-or-its-he-is-a-pretentious-cynical-apologist-for-the-al-khalifa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/?p=3133","title":{"rendered":"HRW response to delusional letter to editor at WP from Bahrain’s Ambassador in Washington – Ambassador is disconnected from reality or it’s he is a pretentious, cynical apologist for the al Khalifa regime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tad Stahnk Response to Bahrain’s Ambassador to Washington, letter to Washington Post editor – original letter follows<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Post\u2019s Sept. 9 editorial on Bahrain wisely warned that \u201cthe administration should use its influence now \u2014 before the crisis resumes.\u201d In fact, the crisis hasn\u2019t ever gone away for Bahrainis, even though the U.S. government has conveniently forgotten it.<\/p>\n

Bahraini doctors and other civilians are still tried in military courts, protesters have been shot and killed, and accounts of torture continue to emerge from released detainees. Despite this, the United States has said nothing about the situation for months. On the flip side, the Bahrain government has hired D.C.-based public relations and law firms to try to shift attention from its appalling human rights record.<\/p>\n

At the end of September, verdicts are expected in the trial of Bahraini medics and in the appeal of 21 prominent dissidents already sentenced in a sham trial. The U.S. government should rouse itself from its paralysis on Bahrain and take a stand for democracy and human rights.<\/p>\n

Tad Stahnke, Washington<\/p>\n

The writer is director of policy and programs at Human Rights First.<\/em><\/p>\n


\nLetter to the Editor<\/strong>
\nBahrain\u2019s progress \u2014 or not
\nPublished: September 16 – Washington Post<\/p>\n

Regarding the Sept. 9 editorial \u201cBahrain\u2019s brewing crisis\u201d:<\/p>\n

We agree that thoughtful dialogue on events in Bahrain is crucial. But this editorial wrongly criticized our peaceful reconciliation process and failed to provide a comprehensive picture of what we have accomplished for all Bahrainis.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the editorial asserted that the United States has played a passive role as we work to unify our nation. Bahrain\u2019s government has appreciated support from our ally the United States as we strive to peaceably overcome challenges. We are proud to be home to the Navy\u2019s 5th Fleet, and we stand with the United States in its fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n

The decision of opposition groups to remove themselves from our peaceful dialogue reinforces an active trend of trying to hinder Bahrain\u2019s democratic process. Bahrain\u2019s 300 National Dialogue participants represented all political parties, including opposition groups. We cannot force a rational, measured process on those who would rather settle disputes in the streets.<\/p>\n

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry will detail the actions of the government and protest movement. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed the creation of the group, which has already demonstrated an impartial approach to investigating events in Bahrain. We are prepared to live with whatever hard truths are revealed.<\/p>\n

Houda Nonoo, Washington<\/p>\n

The writer is Bahrain\u2019s ambassador to the United States.<\/p>\n

…source<\/a><\/p>\n

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Tad Stahnk Response to Bahrain’s Ambassador to Washington, letter to Washington Post editor – original letter follows The Post\u2019s Sept. 9 editorial on Bahrain wisely warned that \u201cthe administration should use its influence now \u2014 before the crisis resumes.\u201d In fact, the crisis hasn\u2019t ever gone away for Bahrainis, even though the U.S. government has more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[247],"tags":[1770],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3133\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crookedbough.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}