BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP7th July 2014

Bahrain orders US diplomat to leave

Bahrain ordered a top U.S. diplomat to leave the country on Monday after he met with a leading Shiite opposition group.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom

Malinowski is not welcome in Bahrain. It said he intervened in the country's domestic affairs by holding meetings with some groups at the expense of others.

Bahrain, a tiny island nation that is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, has been roiled by near-daily protests by Shiites seeking greater political rights and inspired by the Arab Spring wave of revolutions since early 2011.

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Bahrain: Senior US Diplomat 'Unwelcome,' Should Leave

Bahrain’s foreign ministry said Monday that US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Tom Malinowski, is “unwelcome” in the Sunni-ruled kingdom and should “leave immediately.”

The ministry accused Malinowski of “meddling in Bahrain’s internal affairs” by meeting “with a particular party to the detriment of other interlocutors”, in an apparent reference to the Shiite-led opposition, according to a statement carried by BNA state news agency.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Malinowski is in Bahrain — home base of the US Fifth Fleet — and “he remains in Bahrain.”

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Bahrain orders out visiting U.S. official - state news agency

Bahrain on Monday ordered a visiting senior U.S. official to leave the kingdom immediately because he had "intervened flagrantly" in the country's internal affairs, the state news agency BNA said.

BNA said the foreign ministry had declared U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Tom Malinowski, persona non

grata after he "held meetings with a particular party to the detriment of other interlocutors, thus discriminating between one people, contravening diplomatic norms and flouting normal interstate relations".

The latest move highlights the sensitivity in relations between the strategic allies. Bahrain is a U.S. ally in a volatile region and has long provided a base for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. But at the same it faces criticism over its record on human rights.

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Bahrain declares senior U.S. diplomat persona non grata

Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski persona non grata on Monday. The Bahrain News Agency

reported that the foreign ministry decided to PNG Malinowski because "the U.S. official intervened flagrantly in Bahrain's internal affairs and held meetings with a particular party to the detriment of other interlocutors, thus discriminating between one people, contravening diplomatic norms and flouting normal interstate relations."

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US diplomat Tom Malinowski expelled from Bahrain

A US diplomat has been ordered to leave Bahrain after meeting members of a leading Shia opposition group, say Bahrain officials.

Tom Malinowski, US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human

Rights and Labor, went to Bahrain on Sunday.

While there, he met members of al-Wefaq, a move which the foreign ministry of Bahrain says intervened in the country's domestic affairs.

Protests by members of the majority Shia population have been ongoing.

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U.S. Official Ordered Out of Bahrain After Meeting

Bahrain on Monday ordered the senior United States official on human rights to cut short his visit and leave the country after he met with the nation’s main Shiite opposition group.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said that Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, had

violated “conventional diplomatic norms” and had interfered in the country’s internal affairs by meeting with “one side and not others.”

The statement did not specify what meeting Mr. Malinowski had attended. But a member of al-Wefaq, the country’s largest opposition party, said he had attended a reception at its headquarters on Sunday night.

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Bahrain expelling top U.S. official for meeting with Shiite group

Bahrain announced Monday that it was expelling a top State Department official for meddling in its affairs, sharpening tensions between the Obama administration and a strategically important Persian Gulf ally.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency said the

government had declared Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor, persona non grata because he had "intervened flagrantly" in its internal affairs.

Malinowski had "held meetings with a particular party to the detriment of other interlocutors, thus discriminating between one people, contravening diplomatic norms and flouting normal interstate relations," the news agency said.

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Bahraini Satirist Blogger Takrooz Arrested

The Bahrain Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of yet another netizen, who reportedly faces accusations of “inciting hatred against the regime.”

The satirist mirco-blogger, nicknamed Takrooz, was arrested at the Bahrain International Airport, while on his way back from

Thailand, said the ministry in a statement on June 18, 2014, without disclosing his name.

A day later, many Bahrainis were fuming on Twitter, saying the arrest was futile and served no purpose other than to further demonstrate the government's true colours in stifling opposition voices online. Scores of netizens have been arrested by the regime since anti-government protests started in Bahrain on February 14, 2011.

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Bahrain kicks out US diplomat for meeting with opposition group

Bahrain ordered a top U.S. diplomat to leave the country Monday after he met with a leading Shia opposition group.

The Gulf Emirate’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights

and Labor Tom Malinowski is no longer welcome in Bahrain. It said he intervened in the country's domestic affairs by holding meetings with some groups at the expense of others.

Bahrain has been rocked by a series of protests by anti-government activists since early 2011. Repeated rounds of political talks have failed to significantly close the rifts between its Sunni monarchy and majority Shia factions seeking greater political standing.

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Bahrain orders US official to leave after meeting opposition group

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry released a statement on Monday saying a top American official has been declared persona non grata and asked to leave the country immediately, a day after meeting with the country’s leading opposition group.

The Foreign Ministry statement said US Assistant Secretary of State for

Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Tom Malinowski was “unwelcome” in Bahrain and had “intervened flagrantly in Bahrain’s internal affairs and held meetings with a particular party to the detriment of others”.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain emphasises its close and robust relations with the United States and stresses the need that they are not affected by such negative issues that may mar their integrity and development in various fields,” the ministry said.

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Bahrain asks US diplomat to leave

Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has considered Tom Malinowski, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, as a persona non grata and said that he must leave the Kingdom immediately.

The ministry attributed its decision to Malinowski’s interference in the domestic affairs of Bahrain and to holding meetings with only one side of the country’s components, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on Monday evening.

It said he intervened in the country’s domestic affairs by holding meetings with some groups at the expense of others.

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Setback in Relations with Bahrain as Senior U.S. Official Expelled

On Monday, the Bahraini government unexpectedly declared that U.S. diplomat Tom Malinowski -- the State Department's assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor, who had arrived on the island Sunday for a three-day visit -- should leave the country "immediately." The decision likely dislocates carefully planned steps

toward fall elections and could affect the operations of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is headquartered on the island.

In the official announcement, Malinowski was declared "persona non grata," meaning his diplomatic entry visa was cancelled. Being PNG'ed is rare and typically seems to occur when an intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover is discovered by the host government.

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Bahrain Kicks Out Top U.S. Human Rights Diplomat For Doing His Job

Bahrain’s government has until now maintained excellent relations with the United States, despite being accused of massive human rights violations over the past three years. On Monday, however, the regime decided to expel the United States’ top diplomat on human rights matters for meeting with an opposition group.

Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski, who only recently won confirmation after a lengthy delay in the Senate, is on travel to the small Persian Gulf country to discuss the promotion of increased democracy and human rights. In that role, on Sunday he met with members of the opposition group Al Wefaq, who advocate for more representation of the Shiite majority in the island’s politics

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Bahrain expels senior US diplomat for meeting with Shiite Muslims

Bahrain expelled U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski from its borders today in what could be the beginning of an international incident. AP reports, “Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry says that a top U.S.

official has been declared persona non grata and asked to leave the country, just one day after meeting with a leading Shiite opposition group.”

The government’s statement says, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain has confirmed that US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Tom Malinowski, is unwelcome and should immediately leave the country.”

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Statement on the Decision by the Government of Bahrain To Find Assistant Secretary Malinowski Persona Non Grata and To Expel Him From Bahrain

The United States is deeply concerned by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s

decision to demand the immediate departure of Tom Malinowski, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, from the country.

Assistant Secretary Malinowski’s visit to Bahrain had been coordinated far in advance and warmly welcomed and encouraged by the government of Bahrain, which is well-aware that U.S. government officials routinely meet with all officially-recognized political societies.

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U.S Government Should Overhaul Strategy in Bahrain as Foreign Ministry Asks Senior State Department Official to Leave the Country

Human Rights First today said that the Bahrain Foreign Ministry statement declaring U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski unwelcome in the country is a very troubling sign that

the ruling family is not serious about political reform and negotiating an end to the ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders that began in 2011.   Bahrain’s statement was issued after Malinowski met with members of leading Bahraini opposition group, Al Wefaq.

“The Bahrain government has once again revealed itself to be an erratic, embarrassing, and unreliable partner.

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Bahrain Orders U.S. Diplomat Out of the Country

The Bahraini government has ordered U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski out of the country, accusing him of  intervening ”in the country’s domestic affairs by holding meetings with some groups at the expense of others.” This, the Bahraini government holds,

“segregates the people of Bahrain and runs counter to diplomatic norms.” A statement from the Bahraini foreign ministry suggests the decision “should not in any way affect the two countries’ relationship of mutual interests.” Malinowski had recently met with the Shiite opposition group al-Wefaq before he was ordered to leave.

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