Clinton Urges Restraint in Bahrain, Offers Help to Egypt

17 February 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton telephoned Bahrain’s foreign minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, to express U.S. concerns over violence by Bahraini security forces against anti-government protesters and urged that the perpetrators be held responsible.

Speaking in Washington February 17, Clinton said she had telephoned the foreign minister earlier in the day and “emphasized how important it was” that Friday prayers and the funerals of the victims that will be held February 18 “not be marred by violence.”

According to press reports, five people died and 231 were injured early February 17 when police broke up a camp in the capital, Manama, that was inhabited by demonstrators who are seeking political reforms.

Just as it has said in response to political unrest elsewhere in the region, the United States “strongly opposes the use of violence and strongly supports reform that moves toward democratic institution-building and economic openness,” Clinton said.

Describing Bahrain as a longtime U.S. friend and ally, the secretary said, “There have been reform steps taken” by Bahrain’s government, and the Obama administration would like to see reforms continue and be strengthened. “We believe that all people have universal rights, including the right to peaceful assembly,” she said.

She called for the Bahraini government to show restraint and to hold accountable “those who have utilized excessive force against peaceful demonstrators.” The secretary also urged the country to “return to a process that will result in real, meaningful changes for the people.”

U.S. SEEKING TO HELP EGYPT WITH DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION

Clinton also announced that the Obama administration is reprogramming $150 million in assistance to Egypt to support the country’s political transition and is sending Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns and David Lipton, the White House senior adviser on international economics, to consult with their Egyptian counterparts.

“It’s very clear that there’s a great deal of work ahead to ensure an orderly, democratic transition. It’s also clear that Egypt will be grappling with immediate and long-term economic challenges,” Clinton said.

The United States “stands ready to provide assistance to Egypt to advance its efforts,” she said.

The reprogrammed funding, Clinton said, will help position the United States to “support the transition there and assist with their economic recovery,” as well as to give the Obama administration “flexibility to respond to Egyptian needs moving forward.”

Clinton said Burns and Lipton will visit Egypt during the week of February 20 and their consultations with Egyptian leaders will focus on “how we can most effectively deploy our assistance in line with their priorities.”

Mark Toner, the State Department’s acting deputy spokesman, said February 17 that recent political unrest in the country had “a very real economic impact.”

As Egypt moves toward holding free elections, the United States wants to be “positioned to bolster those efforts and to help in any kind of way,” he said.

Burns and Lipton intend to talk with Egyptian authorities and political groups to get a better assessment of what Egypt’s needs are, Toner said.