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However, the real story behind the headlines is that the diplomatic shuffle reveals that the British establishment is well aware of the vicious repression being conducted by the Bahraini rulers along with the armed forces of neigbouring Gulf states, including Western allies Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
While the ongoing violations, including the military take-over of hospitals and unlawful detention of injured patients, have elicited condemnations from the UN Committee on Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders and the US-based Physicians for Human Rights, the British government, along with Washington and other Western governments, has been conspicuously muted.
Officially, the Bahraini Crown Prince “uninvited” himself. In a statement, he said: “I was hoping that the Kingdom of Bahrain would have a high-profile representation at this glamorous event, thus reflecting the friendship bonding our countries. However, the current situation reigning in Bahrain prevents me from attending.”
The bets are that the British foreign office became alarmed at the growing media controversy in Britain over the planned attendance at the wedding by the Bahraini monarch and advised the latter to uninvite himself.
If the British government really did believe the official justifications for the repression in Bahrain, it would not have made such a move. The Bahraini monarch’s wish not to tarnish the occasion seems to be an off-guarded, inadvertent admission that there are disturbing violations being perpetrated by the regime. And the British government knows full well that it is harbouring a dirty little secret in Bahrain and that more media delving could expose that.
Originally posted by lifeissacred
reply to post by MIDNIGHTSUN
It is custom for royalty to stay closely involved in events such as these, especially nowadays when monarchy is generally thought of as out-dated and the power of monarchs as rulers is ever-dwindling. To me it's more likely a combination of the two main hypotheses, he uninvited himself in case things got intense whilst he was out of the country, as well as a nod from our intelligence services saying it was probably a wise move since it would tarnish the reputation of our royalty as well as draw criticism and protests to the wedding. Why add potential fuel to a fire that is already barely managable, especially at a time when there is a minor revolution in your country (Bahrain)? Who can blame him for not attending, I doubt the couple even want all of these world figures there anyway.
Originally posted by bluemirage5
I strongly doubt the Bahrain Royal Family was told to uninvite themselves.......
my bet is the King uninvited himself so he does'nt get de-throned while he's away and then ends up living in exile!!!!