Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Repression By Royal Approval

Prince Andrew, the Grand Old Duke of York,  has held the role as "special representative" for Trade and Investment since 2001. The Duke of York announced July 2011 that he would relinquish the role following criticism of his association with a convicted child sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, and business connections with dictators including Colonel Gaddafi. Nevertheless, it has been business as usual. The prince still meets heads of states and engages in trade missions.  He will start an official visit to the Middle Eastern state of Bahrain to promote the UK. The government asked Prince Andrew to make the trip as part of Britain's "Great" campaign to boost business. Bahrain's government, dominated by members of its royal family, has been accused by campaigning groups of a string of human rights abuses since 2011. Critics claim little has changed since then and trouble has flared up consistently since those first demonstrations.

Bahrain may welcome our royal prince, and has done on several previous occasions, but since 2012, from Britain alone, at least 3 NGOs, 9 journalists, 2 academics and a politician have been prevented entry to Bahrain, or subject to police detention and deportation whilst there. The same situation is share by other countries.  American NGO Physicians for Human Rights was denied a visa. Representatives of the UN are hindered from visiting.

Maryam Al Khawaja, acting president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, accused Britain of putting short-term commercial interests before support for democracy and human rights in Bahrain by sending Andrew. "This visit will not be welcomed. It will be seen as basically supporting the dictator," she said.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International  spokeswoman said: "They have long ago reneged on promises to reform, and the country is now trapped in an endless circuit of protest-clampdown, further protest-further clampdown. Over recent years we've had police officers acquitted of murder and torture charges or given disgracefully lenient sentences, and protesters - including children - given very long prison sentences."

The majority of the people of Bahrain are living in a big open prison.  The regime is using several repressive measures such as collective punishment, restriction on rituals and freedom of expression, prosecutions, arrests, travel bans and blacklists to deprive citizens from freedom of movement. South Korea recently  ordered companies to suspend tear gas exports to Bahrain  because of the misuse of tear gas had caused the deaths and injuries of protesters

In 2013 saw the King of Bahrain come to the UK. He was at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, the Queen was on one side of him and sitting on the other was Prince Andrew. It was just cementing this royal relationship, and what made it particularly awful was at this time there was huge repression going on in Bahrain, assisted by British weaponry.

Mark Curtis explains “The Queen appears to play a key role in promoting arms exports to repressive regimes. The Queen regularly hosts state dinners for the leaders of countries buying British weapons. I have discovered that the head of BAE Systems has been invited to the same state dinners as the leaders of undemocratic regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar on at least 8 occasions since 2007.”

But why is it that Britain has such a burgeoning arms trade, including with repressive regimes? The answer is that it’s good for British business. 

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