Bahrain to monitor religious forums
Published: Sep 6, 2010 00:46 Updated: Sep 6, 2010 00:46
DUBAI: Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa gave a national address on Sunday to decry “strife, aggression and terrorism” and announced plans for greater government monitoring of “religious forums” — an apparent reference to preachers and others who seek to challenge the government.
“We hope and expect that everyone will stand firm to protect this nation from strife and evils in the face of violence and terrorism in all its forms,” he said.
A day earlier, state media released the photographs of 23 Shiites — ranging from opposition figures to professors and taxi drivers — accused of conspiring to overthrow the government. They include opposition leader Abdul-Jalil Al-Singace, whose arrest on Aug. 13 marked the first salvo by the government. Since then, the government has steadily ramped up the pressure.
Rights groups say more than 250 people have been detained. The backlash spilled onto the streets with gangs and police clashing on opposite sides of barricades of burning tires.
On Saturday, officials said the 23 detained activists were part of a plot to overthrow the government of this Gulf kingdom — a Western ally and homeport for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
“This sophisticated terrorist network with operations inside and outside Bahrain has undertaken and planned a systematic and layered campaign of violence and subversion aimed squarely at undermining the national security of Bahrain,” said a statement by public prosecution official Abdul-Rahman Al-Sayed after the arrests were announced Saturday.
No details of the coup plot have been made public.
The clampdown comes ahead of Oct. 23 elections for Parliament, where Shiites currently have 17 of the 40 seats and could make a bid for a majority in the upcoming balloting.
The confrontation also showcases Bahrain's role as the centerpiece for Gulf concerns about Iran. Some Gulf countries harbor suspicions about Iran's effort to expand its regional clout. Yet only Bahrain has a sizable Shiite population that is seen as a possible beachhead for Iran on the Arab side of the Gulf.
Hard-liners in Iran have often described Bahrain as Iran's “14th Province.” But no clear evidence has emerged of Iranian aid to the opposition groups in Bahrain, and Bahrain's leadership issued a statement last week distancing itself from any accusations toward Iran.
Shadi Hamid, a Gulf affairs researcher at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said: “There is more and more concern about Iranian influence even if it can be proven or not.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a short visit Sunday to Qatar, the only Gulf state that has welcomed him since Iran's disputed presidential election last year. At a news conference with Qatar's leader, Ahmadinejad said they agreed on the need for reconciliation and cooperation between Iran and its neighbors, but Bahrain's unrest was not specifically mentioned.
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