Sen. Wyden Comments on Bahrain Arms Sale, BICI

At an event sponsored by the Project on Middle East Democracy and the School of Advanced International Studies, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) gave a speech addressing the role of the United States in relation to ongoing unrest in Bahrain. Regarding the $53 million arms sale that he publicly opposed, Wyden said the U.S. “should not be rewarding a regime that has fired on peacefully assembled protestors, indiscriminately imprisoned its citizens simply for voicing a political viewpoint, and stifling basic human freedoms.” This, he said, “led me to introduce Senate Joint Resolution 28, which would stop the proposed arms sale to Bahrain until certain conditions were met.” Wyden added, “Until we see measurable [reforms], and on the recommendations made by the Commission report, I will continue to raise objections to the proposed arms sale to Bahrain.

Wyden stated that the BICI report “confirmed what others have been reporting about the human rights violations that took place during the protests that began earlier this year,” adding that the “report has shown the wisdom of stopping the arms sale.” “Imagine if everyone in Congress had kept quiet and this arms sale had been completed. What kind of message would this have sent the world or to the people aspiring for freedom and democracy?” he said.

Senator Wyden urged the Bahraini government to “immediately begin to implement the reforms
recommended by the [BICI],” by “holding all public officials accountable for their role in the abuses; reforming the Bahraini National Security Agency, Ministry of Interior, and Bahrain Defense Forces, all of which were involved in the systematic issue of torture against protestors; and implementing legislative changes as recommended by the national commission that is being formed.”