His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, last night gave a detailed speech on the current situation in Bahrain within the context of wider regional security at the eighth “IISS Regional Security Summit: The Manama Dialogue” which kick-started on Friday.
Addressing an audience of visiting heads of state, foreign ministers and related dignitaries representing more than 30 nations from across the world, HRH Crown Prince outlined the various challenges facing the region, in particular nuclear non-proliferation; the rise of extremism and the risks of chemical and biological weapons falling into the hands of such groups; the need for resource security; promotion of democracy and the rule of law and the ongoing need to address the Middle East peace process.HRH Crown Prince said: “All of these security challenges were present before the so-called ‘Arab Spring.’ These are not new, but in fact managing them through this turbulent time have got a lot harder as the instability of the region has grown.
“Never before has such a surge in democratic rights and threats to freedom been apparent at the same time. The outcomes of the changes we are witnessing have yet to be determined.”Looking at the foreign policy challenges these changes create, HRH Crown Prince said: “Governments in the West are being criticised for doing too much and, at the same time, too little.”“The governments in the East, however, are seeking new ways to engage with our region, the Arabic and Islamic region, and are deploying their growing influence to take advantage of the rapidly shifting global fortunes.
”Looking at the region as a whole, HRH Crown Prince said: “We are dealing with a new Middle East, make no mistake. Anyone who doesn’t recognize that is fooling themselves, deluding themselves. It is, however, my thesis that it is the tried and true tools of state craft that will allow us to emerge from this tumultuous time with the least human harm done.”Referring to the experience of Bahrain, HRH Crown Prince went on to recognise and thank the support given to the Kingdom in getting to a point of relative calm, notably the GCC, with specific reference to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for its military support to protect the Kingdom against any external aggression, and also to the United Kingdom for its support in police and judicial reform and its active engagement with both government and opposition towards achieving resolution to current issues which HRH Crown Prince argued had saved lives.
Looking more deeply at events in Bahrain, HRH Crown Prince also gave recognition to the members of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). On the BICI, HRH Crown Prince said: that the government invited eminent human rights lawyers and investigators to the Kingdom to document exactly what had happened.“It is through that good work that we have a realistic picture of what occurred last year and it fundamentally, and I cannot stress this enough, it fundamentally changed the political landscape of the Kingdom. It allowed for a calming of the events which had taken place, it created a unified discourse, or document, which outlined what had indeed taken place.
”HRH Crown Prince also gave recognition to the Ministry of Interior for the significant steps it has made since the unrest in pursuing a reform agenda through training and the adoption of new approaches. HRH Crown Prince said: “They have continued to maintain the discipline required to help facilitate the environment which brings people together.”Looking more broadly at the current situation, HRH Crown Prince said: “Security is not the only guarantor of stability. Without justice there can no freedom, and without freedom there can be no true security. I believe that the way forward for the Kingdom of Bahrain is as follows:
The government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, I believe, has done significant steps, but more work needs to be done, specifically, reform and capacity building in the judiciary.“I believe fundamentally that only through the genuine application of a just and fair and inclusive legal system will people feel that their own rights and their own futures are protected. So we must do more to improve the training and the capacity of our own judges. We must do more to change laws which still can lead to, in my opinion, judgments which go against protections guaranteed in our constitution.”Addressing the paramount importance of further such reform, HRH Crown Prince said: “This is key. This is what will build trust across the whole of society here in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”Emphasising the need for all parties with authority in Bahrain to participate constructively, HRH Crown Prince said: “Political figures who disagree with either the constitutional structure, or the performance of the government, must condemn violence. Silence is not an option. I call on all the senior leadership of those who disagree, including the Ayatollahs, to condemn violence on the streets unequivocally.
And more, to prohibit it.”Looking at dialogue, HRH Crown Prince said: “There is a silent majority here in the Kingdom of Bahrain who feel their voices are unheard. They are the ones who go to sleep at night with no security at their gates. They are the ones who live in mixed communities. Representing different sects, ethnicities, political beliefs. They are the ones who have to live day to day with the spectre of a sectarian conflict erupting that may damage themselves, or their own interests, their future, or their children at any time and that cannot be allowed to happen. “Responsible leadership is called for.
And that is because the majority of the people of Bahrain want a solution which puts the events of last year firmly in the past and I believe that dialogue is the only way forward.”“Geopolitically, demographically, and historically the differing political views represented in disparate political groups in Bahrain must be reconciled, and they will only by reconciled by sitting together and agreeing a framework where the limit of what is acceptable is the limit of what is unacceptable to the other with the ultimate goal being to reach an agreement.
“I am not a prince of Sunni Bahrain, I am not a prince of Shia Bahrain, I am a prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain and all mean a great deal to me personally. And I soon hope to see a meeting between all sides, and I call for a meeting between all sides, as I believe that only through face-to-face contact will any real progress be made.” Calling on continued international assistance and reminding the audience of Bahrain’s unique reforms, HRH Crown Prince said: “His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was a pioneer of the reform process in the Middle East and we have continued to commit ourselves to move forward in the future. The path of progress is not always linear, there are setbacks, there are challenges.
But if we hold human dignity, human security and justice above all else then we will prevail. If we fall into the dangerous area of sectarianism, false misplaced nationalism then history also teaches us that failure is not far behind.”The eighth Manama Dialogue is being held in the capital of Bahrain from Friday 7th December through to Sunday 9th December.The following is the full text of HRH Crown Prince’s speech:“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
“It is indeed a great pleasure to see you all here, I genuinely extend my thanks for your time, your energy and your effort, for making this journey in circumstances that require us to be quite reflective and introspective and considerate when dealing with the matters at hand.“I would like to thank you, sir, and the IISS for all of the great work that you do around the world, the great work you did last year here with the Sherpa meetings, and especially for reconvening the Manama Dialogue at this critical time.
“I think I would like to start by outlining some regional challenges and interests that are shared by many governments around the world: Nuclear non-proliferation, probably in the forefront of many of your minds; The rise of extremists compounded by potential entrance of, god forbid, chemical and biological weapons from nation states that seem to be failing at the present time, the resultant threat from terrorism, from that god-awful eventuality, is something that we must all be genuinely concerned about; Third, oil security, something that is rarely talked about these days, but is still critical to the recovery of many economies around the world, especially in the United States and maybe more so in Europe; Number four, the promotion of democracy and rule of law, this has been a long standing goal of many governments, especially in the west, and I don’t see it changing any time soon, and; For the United States in particular, managing its relationship with the State of Israel and the stalled peace process, which is important to us all.
“So, those are five real heavy-weight security concerns that I’m sure many of you consider. I would like to draw the attention of the audience to the fact that all of those security challenges were present before the so-called ‘Arab Spring.’ These are not new, but in fact managing them through this turbulent time have gotten a lot harder as the instability of the region has grown.“Consider this: Never before has such a surge for democratic rights and threats to freedom been so apparent at the same time.
The outcomes of the tremendous change that we are seeing across the region have yet to be determined to be benign or, if I may say so, malign. So we must always keep a vigilant eye on where we are headed. “The response from the international community has been mixed. Those governments in the West, or there are some governments in the West, who are criticised for doing too much and, at the same time, doing too little. Which smacks to me of a need to refocus our efforts, or the efforts of those particular governments to be more effective, and more targeted, and more in line with a coherent international public policy.
“The governments in the East, however, are seeking new ways to engage with our region, the Arabic region, the Islamic region, and are deploying their growing influence to take advantage of the rapidly shifting global order. This is a reality and it must be recognised. “Add to that the power of the information, of the information age, either through the many satellite TV channels, which in my opinion were the real game changer on the information landscape, or the modern phenomenon of social-networks, and you have the added challenge of the reach and speed by which events can rise, is compounded by a factor that is unseen in human history.
“It is a tall order indeed and I am sure these subjects will be discussed over this weekend, as they need to be. We must realise, ladies and gentlemen, that we are dealing with a new Middle East make no mistake. Anyone who doesn’t recognise that is fooling themselves and deluding themselves. It is, however, my thesis that it is the tried and true tools of state craft that will allow us to emerge from this tumultuous time with the least human harm done. And let me explain that from a personal experience.“You are aware we had our own experience of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ last year. It delayed the Manama Dialogue and caused a lot of harm to the society of my beloved Kingdom. In our case, it divided the nation, and while a level of calm has returned to the Kingdom, there are many wounds to be healed on all sides.“I would like to take, though, this opportunity to thank those who got us to this point of relative calm.
First and foremost, the member states of the GCC – Thank you. In particular, notice must be given to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates without whom, whose actions and words, we would have been in a far different place. They did not put their young men in the face of danger or their money into developmental projects to subjugate the people of Bahrain. They did so to deter any external aggressor from taking advantage of, what was then, a very, very difficult and unpredictable and uncertain time. So to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates we will never forget your stand during our difficult time.
“I would personally like to thank the many in the West who were very kind to me and what I have tried to achieve by promoting dialogue between all the disparate groups here in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Your support to me has been invaluable over the difficult, past difficult eighteen months. However, I would in particular like to thank the diplomats, the leadership, and the government of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of the UK.
You have stood head and shoulders above others. You have engaged all stakeholders, you have kept doors open to all sides in what was a very difficult and sometimes unclear situation. Your engagement and your help in police reform, in judicial reform, your direct engagement with the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain and with members of the opposition has saved lives. And for that I will be personally, eternally grateful. Thank you.“I would like to thank those in the East who received us with open arms: The governments of Singapore, Korea, and Japan, you deserve our thanks and our respect – Thank you very much. “And moving on from state actors, I would like to thank the members of the BICI: the international commission, which did the investigation into the abuses and the reality of what took place last year.
It was an unprecedented move by a government to invite eminent human rights lawyers and investigators to the Kingdom to document exactly what had happened. It is through that good work that we have a realistic picture of what occurred last year and it fundamentally, and I cannot stress this enough, it fundamentally changed the political landscape of the Kingdom. It allowed for a calming of the events which were taking place; it created a unified discourse, or document, which outlined what had indeed taken place; and it prevented many people from exaggerating events or ‘spinning’ events, let me put it that way, in a manner beneficial to their particular point of view.
So, I’d like to thank them. “I would like to thank internally our Ministry of Interior, which has been extremely forward leaning in pursuing a reform agenda, whether its training police or changing their tactics on the ground, and under very difficult circumstances, with over seventeen hundred police officers wounded, some who have lost their lives, they have continued to maintain the discipline required to help facilitate the environment which brings people together. “But ladies and gentlemen, security is not the only guarantor of stability. Without justice there can no freedom, and without freedom there can be no true security. I believe that the way forward for the Kingdom of Bahrain is as follows: The government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, I believe, has done, has taken significant steps, but more work needs to be done. Specifically, reform and capacity building in the judiciary.
“I believe fundamentally that only through the genuine application of a just and fair and inclusive legal system will people feel that their own rights and their own futures are protected. So we must do more to improve the training and capacity of our own judges. We must do more to change laws which still can lead to, in my opinion, judgments which go against the protections guaranteed in our constitution. We must do more to stop the selective enforcement of law. This is key. This is what will build trust across the whole of society here in the Kingdom of Bahrain. “And, also, the responsibility does not lie solely with those who are in a position of authority. Political figures who disagree with either the constitutional structure, or the performance of the government, must condemn violence. Silence is not an option.
I call on all of the senior leadership of those who disagree, including the Ayatollahs, to condemn the violence on the streets unequivocally and, more, to prohibit it. “Ladies and gentlemen, unleashing people power means we must respect the opinions of people and there is a silent majority here in the Kingdom of Bahrain who feel their voices are unheard. They are the ones who go to sleep at night with no security at their gates. They are the ones who lived in mixed communities. Representing different sects, ethnicities, political beliefs. T
hey are the ones who have to live day to day with the spectre of a sectarian conflict erupting that may damage themselves, or their own interests, their future, or their children at any time and that cannot be allowed to happen. Responsible leadership is called for. And that is because the majority of the people of Bahrain want a solution that puts the events of last year firmly in the past and I believe that dialogue is the only way forward.“Geopolitically, demographically, and historically the differing political views represented in disparate political groups in Bahrain must be reconciled, and they will only by reconciled by sitting together and agreeing a framework where the limit of what is acceptable is the limit of what is unacceptable to the other with the ultimate goal being to reach an agreement. “So, we have our work cut out for us. But the international community must play its part. Wishing for peace never works, but peace-making does.
I call on our friends in the West to engage, like the United Kingdom has done. Engage all stakeholders, train all groups, work with us to make our environment, our capacity greater and stronger. Stop exclusively scrutinising government actions alone, there is a moral responsibility on all sides to work to bring the Bahraini body politic together. We must heal these wounds. We must stop this violence. We must reduce the fear and we must stop the bigotry. I call on you unequivocally to condemn violence if ever it occurs.
We will continue to do our part, but you will help us all if you do yours.“Ladies and gentlemen, I am not a prince of Sunni Bahrain, I am not a prince of Shia Bahrain, I am a prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain and all mean a great deal to me personally. And I soon hope to see a meeting between all sides, and I call for a meeting between all sides, as I believe that only through face-to-face contact will any real progress be made. “It even doesn’t have to be on a very serious subject but meetings must start to take place to prevent us sliding into an abyss that will only threaten all our national interests as we here in the Kingdom of Bahrain, although small, are large in what symbolise, what we represent, and what we have achieved.
His Majesty, the King of Bahrain, was a pioneer of the reform process here in the Middle East. We started well before September 11th and we have continued to commit ourselves to move forward in the future.“So, all I can say is, history has taught us that the path to progress is not always linear. There are setbacks, there are challenges. But if we hold the human, if we hold human dignity, human security, and justice above all else then we will prevail. If we fall into the dangerous area of sectarianism, false misplaced nationalism, and isolationism then history also teaches us that failure is not far behind. “So, I urge you to wish us well in our endeavour and I wish you well in sorting out maybe, for your, the more relevant problems you have come here to seek to address.Thank you very much