By KUNA,
United Nations : The Ambassadors of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to the UN explained to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the reasons why the Kingdom of Bahrain dealt with the “criminal acts” perpetrated by protesters during the last few weeks and why their governments rushed to its support, by sending troops.
“The serious deterioration of the situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain, resulting from regrettable criminal acts that constituted clear and genuine threats to the safety of its citizens and residents, as well as to its economic and social life, have compelled the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to act to fulfill its primary responsibilities to re-establish and maintain security in its territory,” the GCC Ambassadors wrote in a letter to Ban.
They represent Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain.
The letter was in response to Ban who said last week that he was “troubled by the growing violence in the Kingdom of Bahrain that has left many people injured over the past few days,” and noted “with concern” that troops from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council have reportedly entered the territory of Bahrain.
The Ambassadors argued that “in parallel, maintaining security and stability in the Member States of the GCC is a collective responsibility, based on complementarily and solidarity and on the principle that the security and stability of Member States of the GCC is indivisible, in accordance with the relevant covenants and collective security agreements.” “The threat to the security and stability of any member state of the GCC is considered to represent a threat to the security and stability of all Member States of the GCC,” they added in their letter to Ban who repeatedly criticized the Bahraini Government for quelling the protests in Manama’s Pearl Square and called for a “meaningful and broad-based national dialogue.” The Ambassadors said the demonstrators, whose right to peaceful protest is fully guaranteed, have “persistently declined the offer of an open, inclusive and comprehensive national dialogue and instead chosen to disrupt the livelihoods of the entire population, blocking main highways, damaging infrastructure and institutions, including places of worship, schools and hospitals, and seriously violating the human rights of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s citizens and residents, including the right to life while threatening their safety, and undermining the economic and social life of the country.” “While willingly authorizing all peaceful protests, the Government cannot stand by passively as the interests of the population, including economic and financial interests, are put in jeopardy,” the Ambassadors argued.
They explained that the “temporary deployment of the GCC ‘Peninsula Shield Force’ in Bahrain is fully in line with the regional agreements on the collective security of the GCC countries, and responded to the explicit and sovereign invitation of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.” They insisted that the role of the ‘Peninsula Shield Force’ is to protect the official and private premises of departments and other vital institutions in Bahrain and that they are not engaged in any action against the demonstrators, which remains the responsibility of the Bahraini security forces.
They also stressed that the GCC is fully committed to all international instruments regulating relations among nations and rights and duties within each nation and that its presence in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as exemplified by the ‘Peninsula Shield Force,’ aims at safeguarding the common interests of all Bahraini citizens, “irrespective of their political or other affiliations.” They concluded that the GCC actions during this period will be “confined to those necessary for the maintenance of security, civil peace and the rule of law, and will at all times be guided by the principles of human rights.”