Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rebuked the foreign military presence in Bahrain, calling the presence of Saudi and UAE forces an attempt to counter the will of the people, and said he is holding the US fully accountable for their actions.
“This military invasion was a foul and doomed experience. Regional nations hold the US government accountable for such a heinous behavior,” Ahmadinejad told reporters. “The US seeks to save the Zionist regime and suppress popular uprisings. So, it supports certain governments.”
He argued the uprisings are a protest to US presence in the region as much as they are calls for change in national governments, saying the US controls the governments the people want to destroy.
“How can a person rule his people while he interacts with them via arms? A government should belong to its people,” exclaimed the Iranian President.
Ahmadinejad said violence against protestors would solve nothing and only enrage the people further to push harder on their demand. He called on the Bahraini government to negotiate and meet the demands of the people.
The people of Bahrain want an end to their corrupt US-backed government, several have died and hundreds injured as thousands march against the ruling al-Khalifa family which has turned to using the police and foreign militaries on its own people to maintain control.
Husain Abdullah, the director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain said the relationship between Bahrain and the US is strong, as evidenced by the presence of the US military in the nation. Given this relationship the US is unique poised the stop the valance, he argued.
“We know very well the tanks, the weapons, the bullets that are ebbing used by the Saudi troops and the Bahraini troops are sold to them by us [the US],” Abdullah said. “In addition to that, Bahrain received aid; security aid, military aid, we pay them rent for the base we have in Bahrain. They do the job for us there, they do our dirty job. They are a very strong ally and we can control what they are doing. We have 6000 troops in the country. If we don’t stop this, yes we are participating in their atrocity.”
He further highlighted the hypocrisy of American views, noting that the White House vehemently speaks out against the government of Libya for oppressing protestors, but is silent on Bahrain.
“It’s just s hypocritical stand that goes against everything we believe-in in this country,” he said. “This should stop. This should be changed.”