Opposition Figure: Crisis Settlement Impeded by Al-Khalifa’s Grip on Power

A senior member of Bahrain’s al-Wefaq National Islamic Society blasted the al-Khalifa regime for impeding a settlement of the crisis in tiny Gulf island by its grip on power.

“Manama’s insistence on self-centeredness and grip on power delays settlement of the current crisis,” Majid Milad told FNA in Manama on Tuesday.

He underlined the necessity for the al-Khalifa regime to respect freedom of expression and accept the opposition groups’ criticism about the government’s performance, and said, “The Bahraini regime doesn’t accept the freedom of expression unless it falls within the limits specified by the regime and to its own benefit.”

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the al-Khalifa dynasty.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Gulf kingdom on March 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

R.S