A TOP government official and a leading opposition member have criticised as unfair and unrealistic an annual global report which ranks the country alongside Afghanistan, China and North Korea in terms of political freedom and civil liberties.
Bahrain is one of five countries downgraded into the "not free" category of Freedom House's Freedom In The World 2010: Erosion Of Freedom Intensifies report, bringing the total number of countries in the category to 47.
Downgraded with Bahrain were Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Nazar Al Baharna told the GDN yesterday that Bahrain was regularly praised for its progressive stance towards political freedom and human rights and dismissed any suggestions that the country was politically restrictive.
"I haven't seen this report, so I can't really comment on that, but what I can say is that the Human Rights Council and reputable organisations like Amnesty International have always praised Bahrain's methodology and progressive approach to human rights," he said.
"I'd have to question where these reports get their information from and what they use to base their conclusions and groupings on, as we are typically seen as big achievers in this sort of area.
"I'd rather look at more reputable reports, as I do not feel that this is a proper diagnosis of Bahrain and it is very dangerous and misleading to group countries in this sort of way."
Al Wefaq MP Dr Jassim Hussain Ali Ghuloom said he thought the report was "extreme" and the downgrading "unnecessary", but that Bahrain had made mistakes that needed to be addressed.
The report designates 89 countries as "free" and 58 "partly free" in the report, marking what it describes as a four-year deterioration in civil liberties, the longest since the report's inception in 1972.
It also says the number of electoral democracies has fallen from 119 to 116, the lowest since 1995.
In the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, 14 of the region's 18 countries are listed as "unfree" with only Kuwait, Lebanon and Morocco classified as "partially free" and Israel as "entirely free".
The methodology used to analyse countries is separated into two broad categories, political rights and civil liberties with a measure of one representing most free and seven the least free.
Countries that average a rating of 1.0 to 2.5 are then declared as "free", 3.0 to 5.0 as "partially free" and 5.5 to 7.0 as "unfree".
The report says that although Bahrain's civil liberties (CL) rating remained constant during the last year at a figure of 5.0; its political rights (PR) rating dropped to a 6.0, meaning its status had moved from "partly free" to "not free".
"This was due to arrests of prominent members of the Al Haq Movement, an increase in systematic harassment of opposition political figures and worsening sectarian discrimination," the report added.
The accused Al Haq Movement members were part of a group of 35 men accused of plotting to carry out a terrorist attack during Bahrain's National Day in 2008.
They were the movement's Liberties and Democracy chief Hassan Mushaima, media and international relations director Dr Abdulnaji Al Singace and religious scholar Mohammed Al Moqdad.
However, the trial was suspended in April of last year following a Royal Pardon.
Dr Ghuloom said the government had made some disappointing decisions in the last 12 months.
"I've seen the report and I've got to say that for the most part I agree with the reasons listed as problems," he said.
"The reasons are very valid and I think it would be difficult to argue that Bahrain has not made mistakes over the year that need to be rectified.
"That said, I think the decision to downgrade Bahrain to an 'unfree' state is unnecessary and a bit of an over-reaction, although the reasons given are valid."
Dr Ghuloom added that he believed Bahrain had become less tolerant in the last year, citing the examples of Internet censorship and the harassment of opposition figureheads such as president of the now defunct Bahrain Centre for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab.
"I think it is a step in the right direction that this report has chosen to air these grievances," he said.
"The arrests made last year were particularly disturbing, especially as they seem to have been made with little evidence to support them and it is important that the authorities are made aware of this.
"Nevertheless, grouping Bahrain with some of the countries in that list is a bit extreme."
Other countries which share Bahrain's rating include Albania, Brunei, Congo, Egypt and Russia.
Of the GCC states, Saudi Arabia ranks the lowest with a PR rating of seven and a CL rating of six, while Kuwait ranks highest with both PR and CL rated at four.
Meanwhile, the UAE, Oman and Qatar all share Bahrain's rating with a PR of six and a CL of five.
Freedom House's flagship survey has been published annually since 1972 and is a standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties.
It rates and reports on 194 countries and a group of select territories to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide.
danm@gdn.com.bh
