American and British arms have been used to kill and injure protesters in the continuing demonstrations in Bahrain, according to the Bahrain Freedom Movement (BFM).
“The use of the American-made and supplied Apache helicopter gunships, the British-made and supplied tear gas canisters and guns and various other weapons has exposed the catastrophic moral and ethical downfall of all involved in the attack on the unarmed civilians of Bahrain,” the BFM said.
“The latest episode of the all out war started at around 4.00 am GMT with massive attacks from the air and land at the peaceful protesters at the Pearl Square, many of whom were asleep,” it said in a statement Wednesday.
Last week, the British government confirmed that it had revoked 23 Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) for Bahrain, while Bahrain was also removed as a permitted destination from 16 Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs).
In a copy of the statement obtained by IRNA, BFM said it was “clear that Robert Gates, the American Secretary of State for Defence, had given the green light for the Saudis to carry out their invasion and to use the American weapons.”
“He was in Bahrain on Saturday 12th March, one day before the bloody attack on the demonstrators near the financial harbour in which one civilian was killed and more than 1,000 injured,” it said.
“The Saudis and the al-Khalifa (ruling family) could not have deployed their American and British-made and supplied weapons without the approval of the American officials.”
BFM reported that there was “country-wide revulsion at the indifference to the value of human life shown by those officials who had sided with the al-Khalifa hereditary dictatorship.”
“The past 48 hours have been amongst the worst in the history of Bahrain as Death Squads roamed the towns and villages, wielding swords, axes, iron bars and wooden sticks and attacked Bahrainis,” it said.
The statement also accused the American and British ambassadors in Manama of failing to take “moral stands against what the Bahraini natives see as genocide by the al-Khalifa.”
