Congressmen Introduce Resolution to Block Arms Sale

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative James McGovern (D-MA) introduced resolutions in both houses of Congress intended to block the proposed arms sale to Bahrain. The two congressmen, concerned about the way the Bahraini government is handling the popular uprising, want to block the sale ”until meaningful steps are taken to improve human rights.” ”Selling weapons to a regime that is violently suppressing peaceful civil dissent and violating human rights is antithetical to our foreign policy goals and the principle of basic rights for all that the US has worked hard to promote,” Wyden said.

The Pentagon notified Congress last month of a potential arms sale to Bahrain worth $53 million, even as the Bahraini government has violently suppressed the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain. Brain Dooley, of Human Rights First, said “it cannot be in the U.S.’s interest to be seen to be arming dictators this way. I mean, it sends all the wrong signals.” He also noted there is strong evidence that the Bahraini military has been complicit in human rights violations.

Tension continues to rise as security forces clashed with demonstrators on Friday, in what appeared to be one of the biggest protests in months. “The clashes, which did not lead to any deaths, followed a week in which the government of Bahrain took steps to present a less punitive approach to antigovernment protesters.”