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Obama welcomes Bahrain’s reform move

08 June 2011 01:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday welcomed Bahraini king’s decision to end the state of national safety and initiate a national dialogue on reform in July, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

In his "productive" discussions with Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain, Obama also expressed strong support for the crown prince’s ongoing efforts to initiate the national dialogue, saying that both the opposition and the government "must compromise to forge a just future for all Bahrainis."

"To create the conditions for a successful dialogue, the president emphasized the importance of following through on the government’s commitment to ensuring that those responsible for human rights abuses will be held accountable," the White House said in a statement.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, was swept by anti- government protests in February and March, mostly by majority Shiite Muslims demanding more political and economic reforms.

The Bahraini government began to quell the protests in March with the assistance of the Peninsula Shield Forces comprising troops from Gulf Cooperation Council member states, and a state of national safety was imposed on March 15.

After the state of national safety was lifted last Wednesday, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa called for talks on reforms in the tiny Gulf nation without preconditions as of July 1.

Obama said that as a long-standing partner of Bahrain, the United States believes that the stability of Bahrain depends upon "respect for the universal rights of the people of Bahrain, including the right to free speech and peaceful assembly, and a process of meaningful reform that is responsive to the aspirations of all."

He reaffirmed strong U.S. commitment to Bahrain, the White House said.

Obama dropped by when his National Security Advisor Tom Donilon was meeting with the crown prince.