Senior Iranian Official: Western, Saudi merger plan for Bahrain ‘dangerous’

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani says the merger plan that the West and Saudi Arabia have devised for Bahrain is a “dangerous game.”

“Having seen that Bahraini people will not give up their absolute rights over time, the Western [powers] and Arab countries in the region have now initiated a dangerous game,” Ayatollah Larijani said on Wednesday referring to Saudi Arabia’s merger plan with Bahrain.

According to the recent reports, Saudi Arabia is seeking to merge with Bahrain in line with plans to unify the six Arab member states of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC).

“We hope that the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will come to their senses in this respect and leave the Bahraini people alone,” the Iranian Judiciary chief added.

In December 2011, Saudi King Abdullah called on the [P]GCC members to move “beyond the stage of cooperation and into the stage of unity in a single entity.”

Ayatollah Larijani also noted that the West’s treatment of the popular uprising in Bahrain shows the contradictions between its slogans and actions.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011. The protests were first aimed at implementing political reforms and establishing a constitutional monarchy in the Persian Gulf sheikdom, but later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Bahraini protesters have also held demonstrations against the US support for the regime’s ongoing suppression.

On May 11, the US State Department announced that Washington will resume arms sales to Manama. Bahraini opposition groups and activists have denounced the decision, saying it could encourage further human rights violations in the country.

Demonstrators hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the death of scores of protesters since the beginning of the popular uprising.

/129