“At least 80,000 foreigners have been given Bahraini citizenships over the past ten years”, said Abdul-Majeed Al-Siba. He explained that no official numbers are announced as the naturalization process is being carried out secretly, however, estimations are based on numbers leaked in 2001 and 2002 indicating that 7000-8000 are naturalized a year.
The Bahraini Authority is accused of carrying out organized naturalization to change the demographic structure of the Bahraini society.
Al-Siba warned of the serious consequences of “political naturalization” on the tiny island’s economy and State-services like healthcare, education and housing.
“How is it that citizens who apply for housing have to wait 20 years while foreigners given citizenship are provided with housing within a short period?”, he said.
Abdul-Majeed Al-Siba was Member of Parliament of the Wefaq bloc in 2010, however, the bloc resigned in protest to the brutal crackdown on mass prodemocracy sit-in in the capital Manama.
Al-Siba called for a national plan that addresses this destructive problem according to humanitarian and international covenants.
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Source: Alwefaq