Members of all sides of the House will have concerns about events in Bahrain, including the use of military-led courts to try civilian defendants including doctors and nurses. We welcome the announcement by the Bahraini Attorney General that the cases of the medical staff will now be retried in a civil court on 23 October, and the expected report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on 30 October. We attach great importance to the publication of this report. It is a major opportunity for Bahrain to demonstrate that it will adhere to international standards, meet its human rights commitments and take action when abuses are identified.
He also answered a few questions about Bahrain in the debate that followed.
Three days later, Bahrain's state-run news agency felt it needed to put out its own version of what Mr Hague said... The only problem is that about half of it is made up. For your convenience, I have pasted the entire BNA news release below, tabulated along with my rating of the accuracy of each statement.
|
Statement |
Veracity |
|
Headline: "Bahrain Is Resolved to Reach National Consensus, Says William Hague" |
Utter bullshit |
|
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague asserted that the political march in Bahrain is progressing |
Bullshit |
|
adding that the kingdom seems resolved to enhance that march for the sake of achieving consensus between all segments of the Bahraini society |
Bullshit |
|
He also said that the International Community has welcomed the landmark initiatives launched by the kingdom recently, such as the establishment of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and the National Consensus Dialogue that engaged all parties in the country. |
Technically all bullshit. He said nothing about the opinion of the "International Community". |
|
In a statement he delivered at the House of Commons last Thursday, William Hague stressed the importance of the report due to be issued by BICI by the end of this month. |
True |
|
"We attach great importance to the publication of this report," he said, adding that it will be a "major opportunity for Bahrain to demonstrate that it will adhere to international standards, meet its human rights commitments and take actions when abuses are identified." |
True |
|
William Hague also welcomed the announcement of the Bahraini Attorney General that the medical staff will be retried in a civil court on October 23. |
True |
|
He also said doctors and nurses were tried over violations they had committed, asserting that their trial in a civil court will be transparent and fair. |
Total bullshit |
Of course, the government seems to have no shame in making stuff up like this. Indeed this is hardly the first, or the most serious of such offences. In June, UN rights chief Navi Pillay said the Bahrain News Agency had "grossly misrepresented" her words and that she would formally request a correction from government officials. In September, Amnesty International demanded corrections after pro-regime newspapers in Bahrain printed incorrect information about its statements. Similar distortions or fabrications were made to the statements of the UN Secretary General and the International Federation of Journalists.
I guess its really not much of a surprise any more that the regime would make stuff up. What is baffling though, is that they aren't more sophisticated about it despite the huge sums of money they are throwing at expensive Western PR agents.
[Update: The fake BNA story has been printed in most of the local newspapers today, including on the front pages of the Gulf Daily News and the Daily Tribune.]
