BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

8th July 2014

Expulsion not about
me: U.S. envoy to
Bahrain
A senior U.S. diplomat
ordered to leave Bahrain
after meeting with a leading
Shiite opposition group said
Tuesday that the American
allys move appears to be
aimed at undermining
reconciliation efforts
between the government
and the opposition.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor
Tom Malinowski made the
comments on his Twitter
feed a day after Bahrains
Foreign Ministry said he
was not welcome in the
strategic island nation,
which has long hosted the
U.S. Navys 5th Fleet.
Bahrain alleged he
intervened in the countrys
domestic affairs by holding
meetings with some groups
at the expense of others.
Read More
US deeply
concerned about
Bahrain expulsion
The United States has said
it is deeply concerned
about Bahrains demand
that a US diplomat leave
immediately.
Bahrain on Monday ordered
a visiting senior US ofcial
to leave the kingdom
immediately because he
had intervened agrantly
in the countrys internal
affairs, the state news
agency BNA said.
BNA said the foreign
ministry had declared US
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,
practising a policy of
discrimination amongst the
people of one nation,
contravening diplomatic
norms and outing normal
interstate relations.
Read More
Bahrain summons
top opposition leader
for questioning -
Wefaq
Bahrain's main Shi'ite
Muslim opposition group
said on Tuesday the interior
ministry had summoned its
leader for interrogation after
he met a visiting U.S.
ofcial who was
subsequently ordered to
leave the kingdom.
Bahrain is a ally of
Washington in a volatile
Gulf region and has long
provided a base for the U.S.
Navy's Fifth Fleet. But at
the same it has faced
American criticism over its
record on human rights
since crushing a popular
uprising in 2011.
Sheikh Ali Salman,
secretary-general of al
Wefaq and his political
assistant Khalil al-Marzooq,
were summoned by
Bahraini authorities after a
meeting they had with the
U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor,
Tomasz Malinowski, a
spokesman from Wefaq told
Reuters.
Read More
State Department
'deeply concerned'
by Bahrain's decision
to PNG senior U.S.
diplomat
The U.S. Department of
State said Monday it was
"deeply concerned" that the
Government of Bahrain had
declared a senior U.S.
diplomat persona non grata.
The Bahrain News Agency
reported that the foreign
ministry decided to PNG
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor Tom
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
The U.S. must take a
stronger stand on
Bahrain after it
expels a senior
official
ARAB STATES dependent
on the United States for
military and economic
support once went out of
their way to avoid public
conict with Washington.
More than ve years into
the Obama administration,
there has been a reversal:
Now Arab autocrats go out
of their way to defy and
humiliate senior U.S.
ofcials while continuing to
pocket U.S. aid and arms.
Last month the Egyptian
government handed down
long prison sentences to
three journalists the day
after Secretary of State
John F. Kerry visited Cairo
and raised the case with
President Abdel Fatah al-
Sissi.
Read More
Bahrain orders senior
U.S. diplomat to leave
The Bahraini government
declared a visiting senior
U.S. diplomat persona non
grata Monday after he met
with representatives of a
Shiite opposition party, and
it took the highly unusual
step of demanding his
immediate departure from
the tiny Persian Gulf
kingdom.
Bahrains Foreign Ministry
said in a statement that Tom
Malinowski, the assistant
secretary of state for the
Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor,
had intervened agrantly in
Bahrains internal affairs by
meeting with a political
party to the detriment of
other interlocutors.
Read More
Diplomat Told to
Leave Bahrain Heads
Back to U.S.
A top State Department
ofcial declared persona
non grata in Bahrain was on
his way back to Washington
on Tuesday, according to
Bahraini ofcials, after a
bruising diplomatic clash
between the U.S. and a key
ally.
The Bahraini government's
request that Tom
Malinowski leave the
country prompted a tense
exchange between the two
longtime partners, with the
U.S. saying Tuesday that it
was considering its
response over the incident.
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needed)
Bahrain moves to
expel 'unwelcome'
US official for
meeting Shia
opposition group
Bahrain has ordered a top
US diplomat visiting the
island to leave the country
after he met leaders of the
main Shia opposition party.
The government said that
the US assistant secretary
for human rights, Tom
Malinowski, was
unwelcome and he should
end his ofcial three-day
visit to Bahrain due to his
interference in its internal
affairs.
Sheikh Ali Salman and
Khalil al-Marzouq, the
leaders of the al-Wifaq
opposition party, were
summoned to meet the
public prosecutor for
interrogation today about
what they discussed with
Mr Malinowski.
Read More
Congress weighs
response to
diplomat's expulsion
from Bahrain
US lawmakers are
considering retaliatory
measures against strategic
ally Bahrain following the
expulsion of the State
Department's top human-
rights envoy.
Senators of both parties on
Tuesday expressed dismay
at the news that Assistant
Secretary of State Tom
Malinowski was declared
persona non grata after
meeting with opposition
activists. Lawmakers told
Al-Monitor that they're
reviewing their options,
while democracy advocates
expressed hopes that the
incident would give a boost
to their long-standing push
for targeted sanctions such
as visa bans and asset
freezes.
Read More
Bahrain Kicks Out
Visiting American
Human Rights
Official
A visiting American
government ofcial was
ordered to leave Bahrain
immediatelyafter he met
with a few prominent Shi'ite
opposition leaders earlier
this week.
According to Bahrain's state
news agency BNA, Tom
Malinowski, the US
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labour had
intervened agrantly in the
country's internal affairs.
Read More
US Concerned Over
Assistant Secretary
Of State's Expulsion
From Bahrain
The United States
expressed deep concern
over the Bahrain
Government's decision to
demand the immediate
departure of Tom
Malinowski, US Assistant
Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor, from the country.
The Government of Bahrain
declared Malinowski a
Persona Non Grata.
Malinowski's 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, US State
Department Spokesperson
Jen Psaki said in a
statement.
Read More
U.S. diplomat:
Bahrain expulsion
not about me
A senior U.S. diplomat
ordered to leave the Middle
Eastern nation of Bahrain
after meeting with a leading
Shiite opposition group said
Tuesday that the American
allys move appears aimed
at undermining
reconciliation efforts
between the government
and the opposition.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor
Tom Malinowski made the
comments on his Twitter
feed a day after Bahrains
Foreign Ministry said he is
not welcome in the strategic
island nation, which has
long hosted the U.S. Navys
5th Fleet.
Read More
Bahrain keen on
strong relations,
sovereignty: Crown
Prince
Bahrain will always
endeavour to develop its
relations with friends and
allies, but will also be keen
on preserving its
sovereignty and its higher
national interests, Crown
Prince Salman Bin Hamad
Al Khalifa said.
The orientations that we
seek to achieve will be
successful because they
are purely Bahraini and
consensus-based, bringing
together all parties, Prince
Salman said.
Read More
State Dept: U.S.
Hopes to Maintain
Strong Relationship
With Bahrain, Despite
Expulsion of U.S.
Diplomat
State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki
said Tuesday that the U.S.
hopes to maintain a strong
relationship with Bahrain,
despite their recent
expulsionof U.S. diplomat
Tom Malinowski.
Malinowski, who serves as
U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor,
was asked to leave Bahrain
after he met with a Shiite
opposition group this
weekend. Bahrain, which
has a Sunni monarchy,
complained that this action
ran counter to conventional
diplomatic norms.
Malinowski stated on Twitter
that his expulsion was not
about me but about
undermining dialogue.
Those committed to
reconciliation should not be
deterred.
Read More
Bahrain expels US
diplomat a day after
arrival
Tom Malinowski, the
Assistant Secretary of State
for the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor of the United
States has been granted
persona non grata in
Bahrain after meeting
representatives of a shite
opposition party that was
active in protests against
the monarchy. The decision
was revealed in a statement
released by the Foreign
Ministry a day after the
American diplomat started
his rst ofcial working visit
to the country. Malinowski
has been a tough critic of
Bahrains crack down on
protesters.
Read More
US Diplomat: Bahrain
'Undermining'
Reform Talks With
Expulsion Threat
A U.S. diplomat who was
ordered to leave Bahrain
this week says the country's
Sunni leadership is using
him to undermine
reconciliation with the Shiite
opposition.
The Bahraini government
Monday accused visiting
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor Tom
Malinowski of interfering in
internal affairs and called
for his immediate departure
after he met with opposition
members, who have been
advocating reform since a
2011 uprising.
On Tuesday, Malinowski
wrote on his Twitter feed
that Bahrain's decision was
"not about me but about
undermining dialogue," and
that "those committed to
reconciliation should not be
deterred."
Read More
US call for Bahrain
reforms well-
trodden path to
revolution?
Bahrain has urged the
visiting US Assistant
Secretary of State out of the
country. How could that
happen? And what could be
the underlying cause for the
scandal? Voice of Russia
has discussed the issue
with Mansoor Al-Jamri,
founder and Editor-in-chief
of the Al-Wasat newspaper
in Bahrein, and Ghanem
Nuseibeh, founder of the
Cornerstone Global
Associates consultancy and
Senior Visiting Fellow at
Kings College London.
Old US allies are getting
increasingly weary of the
Americans heavy-handed
approach. Bahrain has
been exasperated to a point
of ousting the US Assistant
Secretary of State visiting
the country. According to
the statement published by
the ofcial BNA state news
agency, the Foreign ministry
"has conrmed that US
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labour Tom
Malinowski, is unwelcome
and should immediately
leave the country, due to his
interference in its internal
affairs".
Read More
Bahrain says senior
US official persona
non grata
Bahrain on Monday
declared a senior U.S.
ofcial persona non grata
and asked him to leave the
kingdom immediately, state
news agency BNA said,
because he had "intervened
agrantly" in the country's
internal affairs.
BNA said that the foreign
ministry had declared U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labour, Tomasz
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".
Read More