Bahrain deserves both criticism and praise

The release of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report into the events surrounding anti-government protests in February and March is a historic moment.

Here was a leader of a Middle Eastern country inviting a foreign independent report into allegations of abuse and torture of protesters and prisoners. There are few, if any, other states in the region that would be willing to stand up to that kind of scrutiny.

The report’s findings do not make pleasant reading for King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa. It confirms the use of torture against prisoners, criticises the trails of many of the prisoners taken during the unrest and also says that some of the Bahraini media coverage of events “included defamatory, derogatory and inflammatory language.”

Sitting and listening to Cherif Bassiouni, who headed the BICI, reading out a long list of the report’s findings in King Hamad’s palace on 23 November was a remarkable occasion. That King Hamad invited it to take place, and paid for it, is laudable and shows genuine regret for the events of earlier this year. While the events into which the report was investigating are deplorable, the apparent willingness to investigate the situation and seek recommendations of a way forward is laudable.

The BICI report does not at first appear to answer the question of where the orders to treat protesters in such a manner came from and just how high up knowledge of it went. It also raises some uncomfortable questions for the opposition, which missed a fantastic opportunity for reform during negotiations with the Crown Prince.

Both sides must see through the criticism contained in the report and use it not as a tool to further incite tensions, but as a disclosure that can help overcome the terrible events of this year.