Bahrain Mirror: The Guardian stated that the Bahraini government is paying the bulk of the costs of the construction of a new UK Royal Navy base in its country, under renewed international criticism for arresting human rights activists and closing down an opposition party this week, according to a freedom of information request.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/15/bahrain-paying-royal-navy-base-human-rights-criticism

The British daily noted that the latest crackdown - five years after the uprising - is a setback for the UK government, which has invested considerable effort and £3.4m in providing technical assistance on human rights to the UK's closest ally in the Gulf.

"The precise value of the Bahrain contribution is being kept secret under UK government disclosure rules, but the UK is to pay only £9m over three years towards the construction of the new naval base central to the UK government's new "East of Suez" strategy," it added.

n a major new report reviewing the Foreign Office relations with Bahrain, which is a former UK protectorate, the UK-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird) claims the UK has become "an unconditional ally" of the Sunni-led kingdom.

Bird claims this assistance "has become a facade to hide the lack of political will in the kingdom to implement reforms".

Allegations of arbitrary arrest and torture are frequently made against the authorities.

Bird claims: "The UK government has avoided overtly criticising the government of Bahrain for the prosecution of political leaders, human rights activists, trade unionists and street protesters alike. Rather than sending a clear message rejecting the abuse of human rights and condemning the arbitrary arrest of human rights defenders and opposition leaders, the FCO instead calls for due process to be followed."

The Guardian stated that the new naval base is central central to the UK government's new "East of Suez" strategy and that the contract for the Mina Salman support facility was signed in 2014. It is currently under construction and is designed to service all Royal Navy ships in the region.

"Britain pulled back from the Gulf in the early 1970s, but with the US focusing more of its attention on the Asia-Pacific region, the UK envisages an enhanced role east of Suez in the Gulf, the Near East and north Africa, and the new base is part of that strategy," it further highlighted.

Arabic Version