BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

7th July 2014

Bahrain orders US
diplomat to leave
Bahrain ordered a top U.S.
diplomat to leave the
country on Monday after he
met with a leading Shiite
opposition group.
The Foreign Ministry said in
a statement that U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor Tom
Malinowski is not welcome
in Bahrain. It said he
intervened in the country's
domestic affairs by holding
meetings with some groups
at the expense of others.
Bahrain, a tiny island nation
that is home to the U.S.
Navy's 5th Fleet, has been
roiled by near-daily protests
by Shiites seeking greater
political rights and inspired
by the Arab Spring wave of
revolutions since early
2011.
Read More
Bahrain: Senior US
Diplomat
'Unwelcome,' Should
Leave
Bahrains foreign ministry
said Monday that US
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor, Tom
Malinowski, is unwelcome
in the Sunni-ruled kingdom
and should leave
immediately.
The ministry accused
Malinowski of meddling in
Bahrains internal affairs by
meeting with a particular
party to the detriment of
other interlocutors, in an
apparent reference to the
Shiite-led opposition,
according to a statement
carried by BNA state news
agency.
State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki
said Malinowski is in
Bahrain home base of
the US Fifth Fleet and
he remains in Bahrain.
Read More
Bahrain orders out
visiting U.S. official -
state news agency
Bahrain on Monday ordered
a visiting senior U.S. ofcial
to leave the kingdom
immediately because he
had "intervened agrantly"
in the country's internal
affairs, the state news
agency BNA said.
BNA said the foreign
ministry had declared U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labour, Tom
Malinowski, persona non
grata after he "held
meetings with a particular
party to the detriment of
other interlocutors, thus
discriminating between one
people, contravening
diplomatic norms and
outing normal interstate
relations".
The latest move highlights
the sensitivity in relations
between the strategic allies.
Bahrain is a U.S. ally in a
volatile region and has long
provided a base for the U.S.
Navy's Fifth Fleet. But at
the same it faces criticism
over its record on human
rights.
Read More
Bahrain declares
senior U.S. diplomat
persona non grata
Bahrain's Ministry of
Foreign Affairs declared
U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor
Tom Malinowski persona
non grata on Monday. The
Bahrain News Agency
reported that the foreign
ministry decided to PNG
Malinowski because "the
U.S. ofcial intervened
agrantly in Bahrain's
internal affairs and held
meetings with a particular
party to the detriment of
other interlocutors, thus
discriminating between one
people, contravening
diplomatic norms and
outing normal interstate
relations."
Read More
US diplomat Tom
Malinowski expelled
from Bahrain
A US diplomat has been
ordered to leave Bahrain
after meeting members of a
leading Shia opposition
group, say Bahrain ofcials.
Tom Malinowski, US
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor, went to
Bahrain on Sunday.
While there, he met
members of al-Wefaq, a
move which the foreign
ministry of Bahrain says
intervened in the country's
domestic affairs.
Protests by members of the
majority Shia population
have been ongoing.
Read More
U.S. Official Ordered
Out of Bahrain After
Meeting
Bahrain on Monday ordered
the senior United States
ofcial on human rights to
cut short his visit and leave
the country after he met
with the nations main Shiite
opposition group.
Bahrains Foreign Ministry
said that Tom Malinowski,
the assistant secretary of
state for human rights, had
violated conventional
diplomatic norms and had
interfered in the countrys
internal affairs by meeting
with one side and not
others.
The statement did not
specify what meeting Mr.
Malinowski had attended.
But a member of al-Wefaq,
the countrys largest
opposition party, said he
had attended a reception at
its headquarters on Sunday
night.
Read More
Bahrain expelling top
U.S. official for
meeting with Shiite
group
Bahrain announced
Monday that it was
expelling a top State
Department ofcial for
meddling in its affairs,
sharpening tensions
between the Obama
administration and a
strategically important
Persian Gulf ally.
The state-run Bahrain News
Agency said the
government had declared
Tom Malinowski, assistant
secretary of State for
democracy, human rights
and labor, persona non
grata because he had
"intervened agrantly" in its
internal affairs.
Malinowski had "held
meetings with a particular
party to the detriment of
other interlocutors, thus
discriminating between one
people, contravening
diplomatic norms and
outing normal interstate
relations," the news agency
said.
Read More
Bahraini Satirist
Blogger Takrooz
Arrested
The Bahrain Ministry of
Interior announced the
arrest of yet another
netizen, who reportedly
faces accusations of
inciting hatred against the
regime.
The satirist mirco-blogger,
nicknamed Takrooz, was
arrested at the Bahrain
International Airport, while
on his way back from
Thailand, said the ministry
in a statement on June 18,
2014, without disclosing his
name.
A day later, many Bahrainis
were fuming on Twitter,
saying the arrest was futile
and served no purpose
other than to further
demonstrate the
government's true colours
in stiing opposition voices
online. Scores of netizens
have been arrested by the
regime since anti-
government protests started
in Bahrain on February 14,
2011.
Read More
Bahrain kicks out US
diplomat for meeting
with opposition
group
Bahrain ordered a top U.S.
diplomat to leave the
country Monday after he
met with a leading Shia
opposition group.
The Gulf Emirates Foreign
Ministry said in a statement
that U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor Tom Malinowski
is no longer welcome
in Bahrain. It said he
intervened in the country's
domestic affairs by holding
meetings with some groups
at the expense of others.
Bahrain has been rocked
by a series of protests by
anti-government activists
since early 2011. Repeated
rounds of political talks
have failed to signicantly
close the rifts between its
Sunni monarchy and
majority Shia factions
seeking greater political
standing.
Read More
Bahrain orders US
official to leave after
meeting opposition
group
Bahrains Foreign Ministry
released a statement on
Monday saying a top
American ofcial has been
declared persona non grata
and asked to leave the
country immediately, a day
after meeting with the
countrys leading opposition
group.
The Foreign Ministry
statement said US Assistant
Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights
and Labour Tom Malinowski
was unwelcome in
Bahrain and had
intervened agrantly in
Bahrains internal affairs
and held meetings with a
particular party to the
detriment of others.
The Kingdom of Bahrain
emphasises its close and
robust relations with the
United States and stresses
the need that they are not
affected by such negative
issues that may mar their
integrity and development
in various elds, the
ministry said.
Read More
Bahrain asks US
diplomat to leave
Bahrains Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has
considered Tom Malinowski,
the US Assistant Secretary
of State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labour,
as a persona non grata and
said that he must leave the
Kingdom immediately.
The ministry attributed its
decision to Malinowskis
interference in the domestic
affairs of Bahrain and to
holding meetings with only
one side of the countrys
components, Bahrain News
Agency (BNA) reported on
Monday evening.
It said he intervened in the
countrys domestic affairs
by holding meetings with
some groups at the
expense of others.
Read More
Setback in Relations
with Bahrain as
Senior U.S. Official
Expelled
On Monday, the Bahraini
government unexpectedly
declared that U.S. diplomat
Tom Malinowski -- the State
Department's assistant
secretary for democracy,
human rights, and labor,
who had arrived on the
island Sunday for a three-
day visit -- should leave the
country "immediately." The
decision likely dislocates
carefully planned steps
toward fall elections and
could affect the operations
of the U.S. Fifth Fleet,
which is headquartered on
the island.
In the ofcial
announcement, Malinowski
was declared "persona non
grata," meaning his
diplomatic entry visa was
cancelled. Being PNG'ed is
rare and typically seems to
occur when an intelligence
ofcer operating under
diplomatic cover is
discovered by the host
government.
Read More
Bahrain Kicks Out
Top U.S. Human
Rights Diplomat For
Doing His Job
Bahrains government has
until now maintained
excellent relations with the
United States, despite
being accused of massive
human rights violations over
the past three years. On
Monday, however, the
regime decided to expel the
United States top diplomat
on human rights matters for
meeting with an opposition
group.
Assistant Secretary of State
Tom Malinowski, who only
recently won conrmation
after a lengthy delay in the
Senate, is on travel to the
small Persian Gulf country
to discuss the promotion of
increased democracy and
human rights. In that role,
on Sunday he met with
members of the opposition
group Al Wefaq, who
advocate for more
representation of the Shiite
majority in the islands
politics
Read More
Bahrain expels senior
US diplomat for
meeting with Shiite
Muslims
Bahrain expelled U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor Tom
Malinowski from its borders
today in what could be the
beginning of an
international incident. AP
reports, Bahrains Foreign
Ministry says that a top U.S.
ofcial has been declared
persona non grata and
asked to leave the country,
just one day after meeting
with a leading Shiite
opposition group.
The governments
statement says, The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Kingdom of Bahrain has
conrmed that US Assistant
Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor, Tom Malinowski,
is unwelcome and should
immediately leave the
country.
Read More
Statement on the
Decision by the
Government of
Bahrain To Find
Assistant Secretary
Malinowski Persona
Non Grata and To
Expel Him From
Bahrain
The United States is deeply
concerned by the
Government of the
Kingdom of Bahrains
decision to demand the
immediate departure of Tom
Malinowski, Assistant
Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor, from the country.
Assistant Secretary
Malinowskis visit to Bahrain
had been coordinated far in
advance and warmly
welcomed and encouraged
by the government of
Bahrain, which is well-
aware that U.S. government
ofcials routinely meet with
all ofcially-recognized
political societies.
Read More
U.S Government
Should Overhaul
Strategy in Bahrain
as Foreign Ministry
Asks Senior State
Department Official
to Leave the Country
Human Rights First today
said that the Bahrain
Foreign Ministry statement
declaring U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor Tom Malinowski
unwelcome in the country is
a very troubling sign that
the ruling family is not
serious about political
reform and negotiating an
end to the ongoing
crackdown on human rights
defenders that began in
2011. Bahrains statement
was issued after Malinowski
met with members of
leading Bahraini opposition
group, Al Wefaq.
The Bahrain government
has once again revealed
itself to be an erratic,
embarrassing, and
unreliable partner.
Read More
Bahrain Orders U.S.
Diplomat Out of the
Country
The Bahraini government
has ordered U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor Tom
Malinowski out of the
country, accusing him of
intervening in the countrys
domestic affairs by holding
meetings with some groups
at the expense of others.
This, the Bahraini
government holds,
segregates the people of
Bahrain and runs counter to
diplomatic norms. A
statement from the Bahraini
foreign ministry suggests
the decision should not in
any way affect the two
countries relationship of
mutual
interests. Malinowski had
recently met with the Shiite
opposition group al-Wefaq
before he was ordered to
leave.
Read More
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world-news/world-voices/