Recent Events in Bahrain

Floor Speech

* Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, the U.S. and Bahrain share a decades-old economic and strategic partnership that spawned a free trade agreement in 2006 and influenced the decision to locate the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the port-city of Jaffair. That partnership has endured for years in part because the U.S. viewed Bahrain as a nation committed to evolving toward a political system that allowed greater public participation and respect for religious tolerance. Events over the last year have dealt a serious blow to that long held belief.

* The Arab Spring inspired Bahrain's Shi'a majority to seek the full human and political rights that they say they have been denied since the Al Khalifa family became the rulers of the tiny island nation over 200 years ago.

* The Bahraini government's response to the largely peaceful demonstrations of the opposition groups who seek only a better life for themselves and their families has been violent and systematic. Dozens of demonstrators lost their lives; independent media outlets were silenced; Shi'a mosques were burned; thousands of Bahrainis were incarcerated and thousands more lost their jobs.

* Our worst suspicions were confirmed by the report recently released by the Bahrain Commission of Inquiry. The report described the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by security forces. Opposition members were abused, beaten and even tortured.

* I associate myself with the public statements of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton as they strongly urge the Bahraini government to follow through on its promises and to systematically and expeditiously implement the forthcoming recommendations of the newly established follow-on committee.

* To achieve a meaningful and lasting reconciliation, all parties must engage in comprehensive political dialogue geared toward a mutually satisfactory power-sharing solution. The long-standing commitment of the United States to a strong partnership with the government and people of Bahrain will be influenced by how the government of Bahrain chooses to negotiate this challenging moment in its nation's history.

* We all will be watching closely.

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