Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa conferred on Friday (July 10, 2015) the Bahrain Medal of the first class on the UK Ambassador, Iain Lindsay, "in recognition of his efforts to develop relations between the two countries".

Lindsay is known for his hostile stances towards the Bahraini opposition, to an extent that he accused it of "opposing the international efforts in fighting the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS)", based on its refusal to establish a military base in their country, Bahrain.

"The clear task I was given by the British Government in the aftermath of the unrest of early 2011 was to lead the UK's re-engagement with Bahrain," stated Lindsay.

"Whilst it is disappointing there was a boycott by the opposition" that took place late last year, Lindsay stressed that "despite worrying reports of intimidation of candidates and voters, the turnout figures were encouraging."

A reference in the opposing organizations who used to attend meetings with the European ambassadors at Manama described the British embassy as "the worst among other embassies with regards to its stances towards the political crisis in the country."

It is not unlikely that Lindsay was promised by the Bahraini government to hold an "expert" position," just as was the case of a UN senior official who polished the regime's policies."

The Arabic Issue