(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The group said in a statement issued on Wednesday that no country has the right to undermine Bahrain’s sovereignty and independence.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to initially create a closer union with Bahrain in line with plans to unify the six Arab member states of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council.
In December 2011, Saudi King Abdullah called on the council members to move “beyond the stage of cooperation and into the stage of unity in a single entity.”
Although the exact nature of such union among the six Arab countries is unclear, reports say the Saudi unity proposal calls for economic, political and military coordination and a new decision-making body based in Riyadh to replace the bloc’s current secretariat.
Bahraini Information Minister Samira Rajab said on May 12 the idea could follow the “European Union model.”
The Bahraini opposition group also stated on Wednesday that the Saudi proposal could lead to “sectarian strife.”
In addition, al-Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman has called for a referendum on the issue to be held in all the six Arab countries.
“Bahrain gained its independence (in 1971) following a referendum” overseen by the United Nations, Salman said in a speech on May 13.
Salman added that the people of Bahrain “alone have the right” to decide and the ruling Al Khalifa regime has “no right to decide a union or confederation with any country.”
On May 14, the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council postponed talks on the union of the six countries until its next meeting scheduled to be held in Bahrain in December.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said after the May 14 meeting in Riyadh that the decision to postpone the talks on the issue aimed to “bring all the members and not only two,” referring to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
“There was no step to have a special relationship between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, although both countries would welcome closer association. We are in full cooperation with all [Persian] Gulf states to come up with the union.”
Some members of the council have expressed concern about Saudi Arabia’s possible dominance over the other five countries if the council becomes unified.
A Qatari official, whose name was not mentioned in the news reports, said on May 11 that Doha “sees this all as Saudi’s way of undermining the [Persian] Gulf States bilateral relations and forcing its own agenda.”
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