Analysis 10:03 02/03/2015

UK interests tied to killer-Khalifa regime in Bahrain

By Rodney Shakespeare, Press TV

All decent people know about the torturing of democrats in Bahrain. All decent people know of the deaths, the poisonous gases and the nasty practice of blasting lead shot into somebody’s eyes.

And most, but not all, decent people know about the nurses who were tortured to write false confessions saying when a person had been brought into hospital with large wounds they (the nurses) put their hands into the wounds to make them even bigger (by ripping the flesh even further apart). 

Yes, bigger and further apart. Imagine the pain. Incredible as it might seem, nurses were tortured to say that they had broken the humane injunctions of the Hippocratic Oath and, instead of helping to heal, were deliberately making ghastly wounds even ghastlier. 

Why were the nurses tortured into making false confessions? It was done because the regime was using ‘dum-dum’ (or hollow-jacketed) bullets which, on impact, explode and make a hole at least the size of a baseball and sometimes that of a football. In an attempt to conceal the use of dum-dums the killer-Khalifa regime ordered the torturing of the nurses.

So there is a brutal, vicious and extraordinarily spiteful regime in Bahrain, yet it is one with which the UK is in a deep, and very happy, relationship. For example, when explaining why the UK has recently decided to establish a new naval base in Bahrain, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond made the most fawning, obsequious creepy-crawly speech that could ever possibly be made. Amongst a shoal of sick-making sycophancies he smirked, “Your security is our security. Your prosperity is our prosperity. Your stability is our stability.” Ugh!!

Giving a summary of the situation Hammond said, “This is about protecting Britain’s interests in the Gulf.”

Really? What ‘interests’? Exactly what ‘interests’? Of course, there is undoubtedly a Dalek robot in the UK Foreign Office which, in a croaking monotone, keeps repeating, “British interests, British interests, British interests…..”

But what ‘interests’? Exactly what ‘interests’? We know that the killer-Khalifa regime likes purchasing poison gas to suffocate and lead shot to blast into faces. We know that, no doubt on the advice of Colonel Ian Stewart MacWalter Henderson the grisly former General Director of Security and head of the State Investigation Department, it likes to have instruments of torture. But is the selling of military and torture hardware really what Is meant by ‘British interests’?

Moreover, if anybody actually makes a list of (claimed) other interests, there arises the big, and very telling, question ‒ If there was to be a democracy in Bahrain, would genuine UK interests, in total, be any bit LESS than what they are at the present? 

Indeed, by trading with a democratic population all of whom have access to proper income, would not the UK’s interests be MORE than what they are at present?

And that brings us to a most important bit of history which today’s UK government is determined to hide. In the 1820s, South America was ruled by vicious, corrupt, Spanish colonial autocracies very much like the killer-Khalifa regime in Bahrain today. Yet the UK rightly decided to support the overthrow of the autocracies and, to this day, the UK has had, and has, remarkably successful trade and political relations with South American countries.

Putting things bluntly, it is not enough to make the moral and political case against torture, suppression of democracy and autocracy just because, all the time, that robot is croaking, “British interests, British interests, British interests….” What matters is whether, with a democracy, UK interests would be smaller than they are today, or very much larger…..

Of course, we must not forget that UK politicians are given gold coins by the killer-Khalifas and the royal family gets jewels, so THAT could be what the Dalek is croaking about. But the personal interests of politicians and the royal family are most certainly not the interests of modern democracy.

And putting things even more bluntly, I often wonder about brave people who protest against the latest atrocity committed by the regime’s ghoulish security agents yet those same brave people often seem to manage to slip in a remark about ‘British interests’ thereby implying that Nothing Can be Done. These remarks are insidious and completely undermine all effort to get democracy into Bahrain because they imply that Nothing Can Be Done to change UK foreign and trading policy.

Indeed, even the best and bravest democrats shoot themselves in the foot by implying, if not openly saying, that Nothing Can Be Done about Bahrain because the UK has ‘interests’ in Bahrain.

Thus everybody, particularly those splendidly brave democrats, needs to learn that the UK’s and the West’s long term interests are to be in normal, balanced relationship with democracies throughout the Middle East rather than in corrupt relationships with hated autocracies. 

When is the UK, for one, going to stand up publicly and denounce the out-dated, spiteful regimes of the Persian Gulf? Could not, for once, the UK show some genuine leadership instead of being a mere lick-spittle groveling to the Americans and Israelis?

Is it too much to hope that the UK will give a lead in democracy and so make a genuine furtherance of UK interests? Yes, it is too much to hope – our government is hopelessly corrupt.

Is it too much to hope that all those who fight so bravely for democracy in Bahrain will now direct at least some of their efforts to pointing out where the UK’s long term interests truly lie? No, it is not too much to hope and I look forward to hearing more Bahraini democrats pointing out that the Dalek is really only upholding the interests of a corrupt few and not the true long term interests of all the British people. 



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:12
She said yes: Marriage proposal at Hayat Project concert in Gyumri
A young man proposed to his beloved at a Hayat Project concert in Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city. In a video posted online, the...
16:45
Opposition MP slams Pashinyan's Artsakh statements
Opposition Hayastan faction MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan has expressed support to the Artsakh government in exile following Armenian Prime Minister...
16:04
MP Aghvan Vardanyan visits arrested activists
MP Aghvan Vardanyan, who represents the opposition Hayastan faction, on Thursday visited the Armavir Penitentiary where activists Vazgen...
15:36
Armenian opposition MP visits border villages
Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has visited the villages of Voskepar and Baghanis in Tavush Province adjacent to the border areas demanded by...
15:04
Ex-Yerevan mayor setting up new party
Former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan is setting up a new party in the near future, his team has confirmed to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service....
14:36
Armenia to send 29.94 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza
Armenia will deliver 29.94 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza ravaged by the conflict with Israel. The decision was approved at a cabinet...
14:07
Expert: Pashinyan decided to terrorize Artsakh leaders
Political analyst Suren Surenyants has criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements on Artsakh leaders at a cabinet meeting on...
13:35
Analyst: The West doesn't care about Armenia
The West wants Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a peace treaty as soon as possible and Armenia's territorial losses do not matter to it,...
13:06
Moscow concerned over anti-Russian bias of Armenia-EU-US meeting
The Armenia-EU-US meeting scheduled for April 5 is causing Moscow’s concern as Washington and Brussels are openly discussing its...
12:37
Pashinyan: Some circles displaced from Karabakh take actions threatening Armenia's security
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warns that the actions taken by “some circles” forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)...
12:04
Artsakh dissolution decree was 'the only way' to save people, president says
President Samvel Shahramanyan claims his decree ordering the dissolution of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic was the “only...
11:30
Japanese supplement products recalled after two deaths and over 100 people hospitalized
Health supplement products believed to have caused two deaths and sickened more than 100 people have been ordered to be taken off store shelves...
11:15
Today is Holy Thursday
The week leading up to Easter or Holy Resurrection is called Holy Week (in Armenian Avak Shabat). During this period, the Armenian Apostolic...
11:00
Upcoming Armenia-US-EU meeting not directed against any third party – Foreign Ministry
The high-level meeting scheduled for April 5 in Brussels is aimed at strengthening Armenia-EU-US cooperation and is not directed against...
17:00
Azerbaijan's team opts out of Sambo World Cup in Yerevan
Azerbaijan's national team will not participate in the Sambo World Cup to be held in Yerevan, Armenia, Azerbaijani Sambo Federation official...
16:45
Biden calls Putin 'butcher'
US President Joe Biden has disparaged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the second time in two months, publicly calling him a...
16:30
Armenian parliament speaker defends land handover to Azerbaijan
Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan has defended the plans to hand over border villages in Tavush Province to Azerbaijan. He...
16:04
Azerbaijan must create conditions for safe return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh, UK says
The UK government is clear that Azerbaijan must create the conditions for a safe and secure return of ethnic Armenians who were displaced from...
15:35
Photo campaign calls for release of political prisoners in Armenia
A photo campaign for the release of Armenian opposition activists has been launched in Yerevan. Photos of political prisoners Narek...
15:15
Arthur Abraham's father dies at 68
German-Armenian boxing star Arthur Abraham’s father, Grigor Abrahamyan, has died in Berlin at the age of 68. “We’re deeply...
15:00
Armenian MP warns of threats after possible land handover to Azerbaijan
Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has warned of threats to a number of settlements in Armenia amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s signaled...
14:31
EU mission hosts French ambassador to Armenia
The EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) on Wednesday hosted French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies and members of the French...
14:06
Azerbaijan opposes Armenia-EU-US conference
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has deplored the EU-Armenia-US joint conference scheduled for 5 April, warning that it will create...
13:36
Political prisoner Vazgen Saghatelyan slams Pashinyan in letter from prison
Political prisoner Vazgen Saghatelyan has blasted Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his regime for efforts to silence their critics in...
12:34
U.S. aims to encourage Armenia and Azerbaijan to bridge differences – State Dept.
The objective of the United States is to encourage Armenia and Azerbaijan to bridge their differences, U.S. State Department...
12:15
Ukraine tells EU to hand over 'missing' €5B in Russian asset profits
Ukraine is pushing for another €5 billion from the proceeds generated by frozen Russian assets that the EU has decided to withhold from the...
12:00
Eurovision 2024: Semi-final running orders revealed
The running orders of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 semi-finals have been revealed. Armenia’s Ladaniva will perform 8th in the...
11:45
Today marks Holy Wednesday
The week leading up to Easter or Holy Resurrection is called Holy Week (in Armenian Avak Shabat). During this period, the Armenian Apostolic...
11:30
Denialists Erdogan and Netanyahu shamefully exploit the term genocide to bash each other
By Harut Sassounian www.thecaliforniacourier.com For several decades, Israel and Turkey were in a honeymoon, supporting each other...
11:10
SME loan portfolio of Ameriabank reported more than 30% growth in 2023
The small and medium enterprise (SME) loan portfolio of Ameriabank increased by more than 30% in 2023 to reach to AMD 222.6 billion as of...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}