He also met House of Commons Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans, President of the Conservative Party’s Middle East Council Baroness Patricia Morris, and Shadow Attorney-General and Spokesperson for Law Officers Baroness Patricia Scotland as well as Jeffrey Donaldson, Deputy Spokesperson for Defence, Equality, Energy and Climate Change in North Ireland.
During his meetings the Minister reviewed the current situation in Bahrain and highlighted that the Kingdom was recovering from the incidents witnessed in the last few months. He also affirmed that His Majesty the King had kept the security of the nation in view in the way he dealt with the crisis. This, he said, had helped Bahrain to emerge from the incidents with minimum losses.
He said that Bahrain had gone through a dangerous phase with the risk of civil clashes, but such disaster was prevented by the wisdom of HM the King who had taken proper steps at the right time. He said that the incidents in Bahrain were projected wrongly by some foreign media resources which published inaccurate and misleading information about the situation in the Kingdom.
“We are proud of our democracy and reform project,” he assured, while affirming that Bahrain had gone far in maintaining orders and there were no detainees held on account of their opinions but only people who had committed acts punishable under the law. “Police have never used live bullets or excessive force, despite criminal acts and acts of vandalism committed by lawbreakers that directly targeted security forces. Police dealt with the situations with self-restraint and professionalism and keeping in view the human rights criteria,” he said, while highlighting that police opted to use teargas to prevent injuries and direct damage.
He highlighted the case of the discovery of highly explosive material that was revealed by the Ministry of Interior on Wednesday and said that the investigation would continue to arrest those behind the crime. He said that foreign expertise had been sought to study the confiscated material in order to speed up investigations.
During his meeting with the Minister of State at Foreign & Commonwealth Office, HE the Minister stressed that the national dialogue was meant to involve all parties and to be an umbrella of the national efforts committed to the supreme interest of the nation and rejected any exclusion or marginalisation.
He said that all parties should agree on the dialogue agenda to ensure its success and the achievement of general interests. He added that all political societies need political growth as some should work for the nation’s interests similar to the British opposition.
The Minister explained that injuries of policemen were sustained through dangerous acts, in which in many other countries are dealt with through weapons. “We agree with controlling the use of teargas and the matter needs training,” he affirmed.”
The Minister hailed the efforts of the British Ambassador in Bahrain in reinforcing bilateral ties between the two friendly countries.
The Minister of State at Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that Bahrain was considered an example in the region and its situation should not be linked to the Arab Spring because the matters were completely different in this case, as the country had achieved remarkable reforms over more than ten years. He said that all parties should be part of this democratic process, while the discovery of a factory to make highly explosive materials is a dangerous matter.
He also said that Bahrain had made progress in dealing with the recommendations of the Bahrain International Commission of Inquiry, and urged all parties to join a political and comprehensive dialogue without preconditions to achieve long-term stability.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Kingdom have a long friendship and we remain strong partners in the region. The UK stands ready to assist Bahrain as it moves ahead with comprehensive reforms,” he said.
The bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and cooperation efforts were reviewed during HE the Minister’s meeting with the Director General of UK’s MI5, Jonathan Evans.
The Minister continued his meetings by meeting Home Office Minister James Brokenshire to discuss cooperation in exchanging information and expertise. The both sides discussed the appointment of liaison officer from London Police for joint and cooperation and coordination.
Brokenshire expressed his support to cooperation between the two countries in combating terrorism and organised crimes, in addition to training. He stressed permanent alliance between the two countries, and that his country strongly supported the reform steps taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain under the reformist approach of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The Minister reviewed procedures taken by the Ministry in reorganizing recruitment and training, while wishing all the best to the United Kingdom in hosting the Olympic in London in 2012.
The Minister also met Northern Ireland Minister Hugo Swire. Both of them agreed that there was no comparison between the situations in Bahrain and Ireland as Bahrain was a small country where there was peaceful coexistence between all segments of society and the differences and conflicts could be resolved through direct dialogue.
The Attorney-General Dominic Grieve affirmed his willingness to provide all support and cooperation to the Kingdom, while hailing the excellent and historical ties between the two countries that reflected the continuation of negotiations to exchange views in the best interests of both countries.
Grieve said that everyone should respect the law as it was the basic foundation to solve all problems.
He said that he supported taking legal procedures against all lawbreakers.
The Attorney-General reviewed legal procedures that should be taken against lawbreakers. He highlighted violence incidents and robberies that UK witnessed recently.
He said that those who protested thought that they were immune, but hopefully the fast procedures, investigation and trial helped in controlling situations. He said that surveillance cameras were used to identify violators that were estimated by 800 persons, in which some of them were sentenced to 6 years in jail.
The Minister said that work was continuing to improve the efficiency and preparedness of police through advanced and intensive training. “We are reviewing all international experiences to adopt suitable ones for our situations.”
House of Commons Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans affirmed during his meeting with HE the Minister that there was no comparison between the situation in Bahrain and what had happened is some Arab countries, because of the steps taken following the launch of the reforms project by HM the King more than ten years ago.
During his meeting with Baroness Scotland, HE the Minister said that Bahrain had moved ahead in its reforms steps and procedures and had overtaken many countries in terms of reforms and democracy.
He said that the decisions by some societies operating in Bahrain were not taken by themselves but by foreign groups. He said the foreign media played a bad and biased role in dealing with the situation. “We are studying what had happened and trying to prevent such situations in the future in cooperation with all parties in society,” he said.
Baroness Scotland praised the wise and excellent steps taken by HM the King in dealing with the incidents and called for fast-tracking reforms since HE the King had met most of the demands of all parties which were part of the political activity through their participation in the 2006 Parliament. She urged all parties to communicate and come out with a common vision.
As part of his meetings, he also met, President of the Conservative Party’s Middle East Council Baroness Patricia Morris, in which she hailed reforms in Bahrain as well as women empowerment in the country.
The Minister also met Jeffrey Donaldson, Deputy Spokesperson for Defence, Equality, Energy and Climate Change, who hailed the ties between Bahrain and his country.
He also reviewed the Irish experience in reconciliation and the possibility for Bahrain to benefit from it.
The meetings were attended by the Bahrain Ambassador in the UK and the delegation accompanying the Minister.