Harry Jenkins (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to support my colleague the member for Werriwa in this motion. I think that both his contribution and the member for Cowan's contribution have indicated the complexity of regional politics in which Bahrain finds itself. The Arab Spring started in December 2010, when a man in Tunisia burned himself to death in protest at his treatment by police. Through the use of new technology, the movement expanded right across the region, and we saw it culminate in the events on Sunday in the massacre in Hulla in Syria. So there is a lot to be done.

In Bahrain on 14 February 2011 a 'day of rage' was organised, again using social networking. As the member for Werriwa outlined, the unrest stems from the repression of the Shiite majority by the Sunni minority. According to a report in Reuters, unlike the people involved in the movements in Egypt and Tunisia which resulted in an overthrow of governments, the Shiite majority are seeking to have a greater say in the running of Bahrain.

I became interested earlier this year when the Grand Prix focused and renewed attention on the civil unrest in Bahrain. Analyst Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Centre said:

For Bahrain's regime, the Fl race was a massive, almost embarrassing, failure. For the opposition, it was a godsend.

Mansoor al-Jamri, editor of al-Wasat, a respected independent Bahraini newspaper, said he was 'amazed by the state of denial' in official statements about the kingdom. 'The price we have to pay for the FI,' was added as a comment by Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Human Rights Society to a picture of a young man being treated for bruises and contusions on his torso and legs. Another opposition supporter described the events as 'tyrant family killing people and Fl helping make it look good.' Another tweeted: 'F1 race is over but Bahrain revolutions continue.'

It is true, as we have heard in this debate and the one before, that Australia has to be careful that it does not impose its will on nations that are undergoing great change and that hope to move towards the sort of democracy which we would we understand but which must still have a cultural context for it to be successful and sustainable. Still, Australia has a role to play in ongoing debates about democracy. The member for Werriwa, in his motion, at point (2):

… calls on the Australian Government to raise these human rights abuses in international fora.

Since he tabled the motion on 8 May, we have seen Australia's contribution at the Universal Periodic Review Working Group, 13th session, in Geneva on 21 May 2012. Australia's statement said:

Australia welcomes the pledge of the Bahraini government to implement the BICI recommendations—

that is, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry recommendations. But it went on to say:

Australia continues to be concerned by reports of human rights violations against peaceful protesters and urges a speedy and fair trial for those who remain in detention. All prisoners should have access to lawyers and due process through the civilian courts.

We take for granted things such as being able to have peaceful demonstrations. If, as a result of those peaceful demonstrations, we are charged with anything, we take for granted that we will have appropriate legal representation. But, amazingly, in Bahrain you are not even allowed to have medical attention. At the protests in February, there were injuries and people were regrouping in the grounds of the hospital, because that is where the injured thought they were secure. Doctors and nurses helped those people who were involved in the protests, and what was their reward? They were charged. They faced charges, some of them were found guilty and they face approximately 15 years in jail because they treated the protestors. Under international pressure, those people are now having their cases reheard.

It is not just this parliament that takes an interest in these things. The European parliament has reiterated its view that demonstrators in Bahrain have expressed their legitimate democratic aspirations and it calls on the government there to engage in genuine, meaningful and constructive dialogue with the opposition. That is what the member for Werriwa's motion asked for. (Time expired)

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