Amnesty international on 9 July issued a statement on Bahrain demanding “urgent action”. Why? Because a female prisoner, Nafeesa al-Asfour, had been released; one of a number of figures released under a Royal Amnesty, which recently saw the former Secretary-General of Wa’ad Society, Ibrahim Sharif set free.
It’s not entirely clear why Amnesty consider this to be the occasion for “urgent action”, other than that the organization goes into default attack mode every time Bahrain is mentioned.
A more appropriate response might have been to welcome these recent releases as a significant step forward for encouraging a climate of reconciliation.
It is significant that Amnesty describes the two concerned women as “protesters” when the allegations against them are related to possession of explosives and attempts to smuggle explosives into the Formula One stadium during an international sporting event. Is this behaviour now considered a legitimate form of “peaceful protest”?
Only telling one side of the story – Amnesty then urges its supporters to write to the Bahraini Government, lobbying it to quash sentences for serious charges of terrorism.
Amnesty’s vital role in raising human rights abuses in countries like Syria, Russia and Iran can only be welcomed. However, the unhealthy relationship between international human rights activists and Bahrain militant organizations compromised the impartiality of these independent NGOs and resulted in them uncritically reporting allegations by the Bahrain opposition.
Some activists discarded their impartiality and ended up as unofficial advocates for the Bahrain opposition, lobbying on their behalf at international events and acting as apologists of acts of terrorism and militancy.
The routine description of those held on terrorism and security-related charges as “prisoners of conscience” indicates how many of these NGOs have long since abandoned any attempt at objectivity and broadcast the same propaganda circulated by the opposition. These organizations should at least reserve judgment on those held on serious security charges and not just brand them all as political prisoners and call for their release.