Faleomavaega Hypocrisy on Full Display

Writing in Salon for the vacationing Glenn Greenwald, Murtaza Hussain citicizes U.S. policy towards Bahrain, saying "the U.S. government continues to support the Al-Khalifa regime in the face of its democratic uprising and refuses to publicly call for the release of . . . pro-democracy activists." Murtaza is a Toronto-based writer and commentator on issues related to politics and foreign policy whose work has previously been featured in Salon, Al Jazeera English, Bikya Masr (Egypt) and other outlets.

Hussain singles out American Samoa Congressional Delegate Faleomavaega for special condemnation, saying "the Bahraini regime has also been expended huge resources on a lobbying campaign to manage its public image and to influence members of Congress to shield it from pressure over its rights violations. Democratic Rep. Eni Faleomavaega, one of whose major campaign donors heads a lobbying firm serving the Bahraini government, has in particular emerged as a staunch public defender of the regime’s crackdown. At the height of the violence campaign of repression towards protestors and just days after the government tore down the iconic Pearl Monument in Manama which had served as a symbol of the revolution, Faleomavaega came out in defense of the regime and asked 'why the demonstrators are protesting again, even after all their demands were agreed to.' No one except Faleomavaega knows which demands had been 'met,' as Bahrain today remains governed by an undemocratic monarchy which tortures and imprisons its citizens with impunity."

Read the full article here: http://www.salon.com/2012/04/10/u_s_s_shameful_bahrain_policy/singleton/

Being in the pocket of a Bahrain lobbyist seems like a good explanation for Faleomavaega's position on Bahrain, which is the opposite of the stance he has taken on Indonesia's handling of pro-democracy forces in West Papua. Hypocrisy is alive and well.