Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

What are we going to do about it? What concrete actions are we going to call on them to take? I do not believe bombing is the way forward in Libya, but I thought it was absolutely right for sanctions to be imposed on the Gadaffi regime for what it was doing to the pro-democracy movement in that country. Why are we not calling clearly for sanctions to be imposed against Bahrain and against the regime in Saudi Arabia, which is actively involved in crushing the democracy movement in Bahrain? I believe we are involved in joint economic commissions with countries like Saudi Arabia. Our export trade with Bahrain is worth €27 million per annum. We import some services and merchandise into this country from Bahrain. Therefore, we have the muscle to do something. The EU certainly has the muscle to impose sanctions against Bahrain and demand an end to this repression. Why are we not making such clear and unequivocal calls?

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