GCC asks UK to deport Bahraini accused
Published: Sep 8, 2010 00:32 Updated: Sep 8, 2010 00:32
JEDDAH: The Gulf Cooperation Council has called on Britain to expel Bahraini opposition figures charged with plotting to overthrow the country's government.
In a statement issued after a meeting of GCC foreign and finance ministers here early Tuesday, the six-nation group said it wants Britain to deal seriously with terrorist groups and refuse refuge to those threatening their countries.
Hassain Meshaima of the HAQ movement and Saeed Al-Shehabi of the Bahrain Freedom Islamic Movement live in London and have been charged in absentia by Bahrain with “forming a terror network.” On Saturday, they were among 25 Bahraini activists charged with trying to topple the country's government.
The GCC ministers also expressed support for Bahrain's move to curb terror.
The GCC, which includes Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, welcomed the relaunch of direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks but warned that Israeli "acts of aggression" may compromise them.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas resumed direct negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Thursday, 20 months after he broke them off when Israel launched a devastating offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
On Iran, the ministers said they were following developments in the standoff over its controversial nuclear program with "deep concern." They said they hoped Iran would cooperate with diplomatic efforts to allay suspicions about its intentions.
They supported "the right of countries in the region to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes ... under the standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency," and called on Israel, which has the region's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, to apply those standards as well.
The bloc agreed to postpone a decision on establishing a single customs union for a few more years.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustapha Al-Shamali said the agreement to establish a customs union, signed by GCC members about seven years ago, was still intact and on course despite the fact that some countries were late in applying its provisions.
The minister did not name the countries but denied any hurdles impeding the execution of the agreement. "Definitely there are differences of opinion among us," he admitted.
Al-Shamali added that the member countries could not agree on how customs revenues would be distributed nor the mechanism for its collection.
He, however, said the countries might start applying an automatic customs clearance system this year to enable them to collect revenues, instead of the manual system currently being used.
The Kuwaiti minister, whose country chaired the current GCC session, said some countries were not willing to implement all the requirements of the union.
"The financial, economic, commercial and industrial committees are studying these issues, which will be discussed at the right time," he added.
Al-Shamali claimed that the project had almost reached the stage that would enable the GCC to finally become a unified economic bloc.
He was confident that the implementation of a single customs union would boost the six countries' role in the World Trade Organization and enable them to have more of a say in world trade policies.
The minister said the meeting also discussed ongoing negotiations with neighboring countries and economic blocs and added that a study on the subject would be completed next March.
He said representatives from member countries would make individual visits to other friendly countries for possible tax exemption agreements.
The union aims to abolish customs duties, taxes and procedures and rules restricting trade among GCC members. In this new unified zone, a flat custom tariff of five percent would be applied for goods imported from the rest of the world.
— With input from agencies
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TARIQ KHAN
Sep 9, 2010 02:55
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