Envoy Deplores West’s Silence on Human Rights Violation in Bahrain, Palestine

A senior Iranian diplomat on Wednesday lashed out at the so-called advocates of human rights for their silence on the continued and blatant violation of human rights in Bahrain and Palestine.

Speaking at a meeting with Chairman of the Italian Senate’s Committee of Human Rights Pietro Marcenaro in Rome, Iran’s Ambassador to Italy Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini criticized domination of double-standard and discriminatory approaches over the most important political affairs of the world, including the issue of human rights.

Hosseini said that the indifference shown by the so-called advocates of human rights to the violation of human rights in Bahrain and Palestine is a clear instance of the world powers’ instrumental use of human rights.

The prospects of an actual and serious progress in global human rights conditions are dim as long as these discriminatory attitudes continue, the ranking diplomat underscored.

The western countries’ total silence on continued crimes and genocide in Bahrain and Palestine continues as a number of jailed activists challenging verdicts issued against them by a military-led tribunal in Bahrain recounted in the court on Tuesday that they had been subjected to torture and beatings after their arrest.

Activists’ lawyer Mohsen al-Alawi said several of the defendants announced that they faced abuse by police and others as part of a crackdown by Bahrain’s tyrannical leaders against an uprising calling for greater political rights, including a democratically elected government.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, more than 69 people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

Iran has also urged Bahrain to heed the demands of its people before it was too late.