UK MPs slam use of secret fund for Queen's birthday in Bahrain
UK lawmakers and rights groups have denounced the government's use of a secretive fund to pay for the celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday in Bahrain.
Money from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which should be spent to tackle conflicts and build stability overseas, was used to send the Royal Marines band to Manama for the ceremony in April 2016, costing the British taxpayers £25,000, The Guardian reported.
Some MPs slammed the use of the £1 billion fund in a dictatorial kingdom, which, according to Amnesty International, curtails freedom of expression and tortures dissidents behind bars.
Bahrain has been leading a ruthless crackdown against domestic dissent since 2011, killing scores of protesters with the help of Saudi Arabia.
Read more:
- Bahrain is at a tipping point: Amnesty
- Bahrain opposition raps regime violence
- 'UK, US prop up Al Khalifah to keep control of ME'
- Why UK supports 'vicious' Bahraini regime
According to documents revealed by The Guardian, Britain spent £2.1 million on a package of “reform assistance” to the Bahraini security sector in April 2016, under a program overseen by the Foreign Office.
“With little transparency, the government is spending taxpayer’s cash propping up a dictatorial regime in Bahrain which maintains its rule through imprisonment and torture of critics," Sayed al-Wadaei, director of advocacy at London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), told The Guardian.
"Bahrain and its ally Saudi Arabia contribute to the problems – not the stability – of the Middle East, and the toxic relationship to these repressive countries shames Britain,” he added.
MP Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for foreign affairs, said, “This act shows that rather than putting human rights abuses first, the prime minister would rather send a marching band to sing lavish praises for a nation whose view of democracy and freedom of speech is simply shocking.”
Since 2011, Bahraini people have been holding protests to demand reforms and a democratic state, but the government has been giving a heavy-handed security response to the popular protests.
1 in 3 Muslims considers leaving UK due to rising Islamophobia
Over 300 Arab figures urge British FM apology over Gaza genocide denial
Thousands rally in London against far-right racism
Sirens sound across Tel Aviv as Hezbollah fires barrage of missiles at Israeli target
Israeli ‘archeologist’ who toured south Lebanon in military uniform to falsify history
The important of Venezuela for Iran
Iran beats traditional rival Russia in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling friendly
Rape trials trigger protests against French ‘sexist and misogynistic’ culture
US photographer opens Berlin exhibition with anti-Israel speech
VIDEO | Press TV's News Headlines
VIDEO | US 'non-profit killer’ bill targets pro-Palestinian groups
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
