Prince Andrew – the Ringo Starr of the Queen's children – flew to Bahrain this week. He wasn't there to golf or to walk around with the head of state blasting geese out of the sky, like he did recently in Kazakhstan. No, he was there for a business and diplomacy festival organised by the British embassy in the capital city of Manama. Which sounds boring until I tell you that Prince Andrew was there to help sell rich Arabs killer jets.
The royal is the star guest at “GREAT British Week” (their emphasis, not ours), a series of tech shows and swanky receptions to celebrate one of Britain’s oldest and least savoury alliances. The week’s events are the latest push in the Coalition’s campaign to promote British business in the dictatorships of the Arabian Peninsula. Mini and Rolls-Royce are involved, and consumer brands like Mothercare and the Body Shop, among others, are sponsoring a gala dinner to celebrate ties between Britain and the Al Khalifa clan – Bahrain's ruling royal family – that go back nearly 200 years. But it’s not just harmless baby clothes and make-up that we’re selling to Bahrain.
“The historical link is about security,” said Ala’a Shehabi, a Bahraini writer and activist. “It’s about logistical support to the Bahraini security services. All the stuff that the Bahraini regime needs to be a strong security state, the British are there.”
So it’s no surprise that GREAT British week coincides with Bahrain International Airshow, where the star attraction is the Typhoon fighter jet. Britain’s biggest arms dealer, BAE Systems, has been trying to sell Bahrain a batch of the jets since last August. A similar sale to the nearby United Arab Emirates fell through last year, so the British are taking no chances this time: both the Duke of York and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond are planning to attend the air show. Full story...
Related posts:
The royal is the star guest at “GREAT British Week” (their emphasis, not ours), a series of tech shows and swanky receptions to celebrate one of Britain’s oldest and least savoury alliances. The week’s events are the latest push in the Coalition’s campaign to promote British business in the dictatorships of the Arabian Peninsula. Mini and Rolls-Royce are involved, and consumer brands like Mothercare and the Body Shop, among others, are sponsoring a gala dinner to celebrate ties between Britain and the Al Khalifa clan – Bahrain's ruling royal family – that go back nearly 200 years. But it’s not just harmless baby clothes and make-up that we’re selling to Bahrain.
“The historical link is about security,” said Ala’a Shehabi, a Bahraini writer and activist. “It’s about logistical support to the Bahraini security services. All the stuff that the Bahraini regime needs to be a strong security state, the British are there.”
So it’s no surprise that GREAT British week coincides with Bahrain International Airshow, where the star attraction is the Typhoon fighter jet. Britain’s biggest arms dealer, BAE Systems, has been trying to sell Bahrain a batch of the jets since last August. A similar sale to the nearby United Arab Emirates fell through last year, so the British are taking no chances this time: both the Duke of York and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond are planning to attend the air show. Full story...
Related posts:
- UK strengthens despotic Bahraini regime...
- ‘UK forces oversee Bahrain repression’
- Bahrain arrests 183 protesters, including 31 children in one month...
- Bahrain protest crackdown as regime tightens control...
- ‘Western media blackout on Bahrain unjustifiable’
- Jailing of Bahrain Shiite activists is ‘appalling’
- Bahraini authorities raid homes and torture suspects for confessions...
No comments:
Post a Comment