US pauses new weapon deliveries to Bahrain

Washington: The US has stopped all deliveries of weapons to Bahrain and has said that it cannot be used against the protestors. “We are maintaining a pause on most security assistance for Bahrain pending further progress on reform,” said the US State Dept statement. It includes previously notified equipment meant for Bahrain’s external defense and support of Fifth Fleet operations. This includes spare parts and maintenance of equipment.

The State Dept. said that these none of these items can be used against protestors. This isn’t a new sale nor are we using a legal loophole. The items had been notified and cleared by the Capitol Hill previously or are not large enough to require Congressional notification.

Far-reaching amendments have been announced by the Bahraini King Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa. The new provisions included streamlining relations between the executive and legislative powers, expanding the competencies of the Parliament and consolidating its role as a control body. The King also decided to set up an independent international legal committee to investigate the the preceding events.

“We have and will continue to use our security assistance to reinforce reforms in Bahrain. We have seen some important initial steps from the Bahraini government in implementing the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry’s (BICI) recommendations, but more needs to be done. We urge the government of Bahrain to take action on the full range of recommendations that we believe will help lay the foundation for longer-term reform and reconciliation,” added the State Dept release.

In February, the Head of the Bahraini independent fact finding committee Prof. Mahmoud Basyouni is scheduled to visit Bahrain to follow up the implementation of the recent recommendations issued by the committee. Basyouni is expected to meet with members of the national committee for the implementation of the recommendation, headed by Bahrain’s Speaker of the Advisory Council Ali Saleh al-Saleh, to discuss the steps taken by the national committee to implement the recommendations.