Freedom House Delegation Denied Entry to Bahrain
24 Jan 2012
Bahrain has recently denied entry to Brian Dooley of Human Rights First and Richard Sollom of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and now Courtney Radsch and two other colleagues from Freedom House.
Freedom House - Washington
The Bahraini Government’s refusal to allow a Freedom House delegation to visit the country calls into serious question its stated intent to engage in meaningful reform.
On January 19, just days before a delegation of Freedom House staff were scheduled to travel to Manama, it received a letter from the Bahraini government indicating that it would not be allowed entry into the country at this time. In the letter, Bahrain’s Ambassador to the U.S. wrote that a trip should be delayed until the end of February. The staff had already obtained visas and were in possession of a letter from the U.S. Embassy confirming a scheduled meeting when they received word of the cancellation.
“By denying or delaying entry to independent international NGOs, the Government of Bahrain is signaling they have something to hide. If they are truly committed to the reforms they have embraced publicly, they will allow civil society and the media unfettered access to the country,” said Robert Herman, vice president of regional programs at Freedom House, and head of the delegation that was to visit Bahrain.
Freedom House had planned to send three staff members to Bahrain to help implement a women’s empowerment program funded by the US Government. Freedom House has been working on the ground in Bahrain since 2004, and has been engaged in this regional women’s empowerment program since 2010. The Bahraini Government has repeatedly denied entry to staff from international human rights organizations, including Human Rights First and Physicians for Human Rights, even after the release of the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report.
“This development, when combined with the continued repression of non-violent protests and the arrest of human rights activists—all of which has continued to take place after the release of the BICI report—paints a bleak picture of the supposed ‘reform efforts’ in Bahrain,” said Charles Dunne, director for Middle East and North Africa programs at Freedom House. “Many in the country are concerned that the government will intensify the crackdown as the one-year anniversary of the February 14th uprising approaches,” he continued.
Bahraini citizens have been broadly engaged in protests since February 2011, to call for a more representative government and to denounce the pervading ethnic inequities in the majority Shiite country run by the Sunni Al-Khalifa royal family.
Bahrain is ranked Not Free in Freedom in the World 2012, Freedom House's survey of political rights and civil liberties, and Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2011.
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
Freedom House denied entry to Bahrain despite visas
By: Courtney C. Radsch
I was supposed to go to Bahrain tomorrow, with visa approved and flight booked, only to be told that we are not welcome and our trip should be postponed. I was to go with two colleagues from Freedom House for a training that is part of a women's empowerment program that ends in February. Yet the effusively 'polite' letter paid no heed and rather claimed that the Bahrain government is "working on the implementation of the recommendations" of the report by the independent commission (BICI) even though one of those was to let in human rights organizations!
In fact, when the report was released last November, King Hamad said "any Government which has a sincere desire for reform and progress understands the benefit of objective and constructive criticism" - apparently the Bahraini government is not one of them! A copy of the letter is here.
In fact, violence has escalated over the weekend, with reports of clashes between mourners and security forces. My thoughts are with all of those peacefully struggling for their rights in Bahrain, please stay safe and know that the world IS watching.
Also read:
Bahrain Denies Brian Dooley Entry , Human Rights First
For any rights defenders or media professionals who are being denied entry to Bahrain for the coming period please write to us on info@bahrainrights.org
