Manama: Bahrain’s foreign minister said that declaring Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Tom Malinowski “not welcome” would not affect his country’s relations with the US, stressing that it had nothing to do with Bahrain’s relations with US but with him personally.
“The decision is unusual in the relations between two close friends and allies, particularly that they are the basis for the ties between the US and the region,” Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said. “It was not an easy public decision, but the issue is confined to him personally and it is not about relations with the US. After all, Bahrain is the Arab country that has the highest number of agreements with the US,” the minister said in an interview with Rotana Khalijia TV channel on Saturday.
Shaikh Khalid said that Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with the move, adding that it was based on the conditions experienced by Bahrain.
“It was not Malinowski’s first visit to Bahrain. He was previously with Human Rights Watch and he came to Bahrain and had a brush with the security men. When he came this time, he went to the Ramadan majlis hosted by Al Wefaq society. I do not think he was thinking clearly and, taking into consideration the current conditions and sensitivities in the country, he could have met leaders from Al Wefaq the next day at the US embassy. The proliferation of the Al Wefaq meeting picture on social networks triggered reactions,” he said.
Shaikh Khalid said that the situation has changed over the last three years “because of blatant foreign interference which did not exist in the past, and the situation has produced sensitivities between Bahrainis whenever there is a meeting with one local side, and not the other”.
“We wanted to send a clear message that local issues and Bahrain’s sovereignty are significant,” he said. Malinowski left the next day, he added.
“Relations between Bahrain and the US are not new. They are deep-rooted and go back to the 19th century. They are diversified and they cover several fields. We are partners in ensuring the security of the Arabian Gulf in addition to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and we are partners in this important international waterway,” he said.
