Zero tolerance stand towards Bahrain rioters finds support
The Al Mithaq Society yesterday welcomed the Bahraini Interior Minister’s pledge for “zero tolerance and life prison terms for assailants found guilty of attacking policemen”.
“What is happening now is not mere demonstrations but arson attacks and attempts to commit murder and they should be treated as such,” Al Mithaq chairman Ahmad Juma told Gulf News.
“We believe that the police have to assume their responsibilities in protecting the country’s achievements and as is the case now defend themselves, instead of indulging in the wishful thinking that the situation would be over soon,” Juma said.
Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa on Sunday evening vowed that “the police would perform its duty and would not stand idle in the face of threats targeting its servicemen”.
Warning
He warned that “the patrols were armed and ready to carry out their assignments and in line with the regulations governing such situations”.
The minister urged parents to realise the dangers linked with the recent developments and asked them to supervise their children “to ensure
that they are not used by saboteurs and trouble-makers”. Bahrain has witnessed sporadic violence since the arrest of protesters who clashed with police at the airport following the two-hour detention of a religious scholar on his return from Iran and in connection with statements that the state deemed as “threats to stability in Bahrain”.
“The perpetrators of these acts will be charged with premeditated murder and not acts of arson or sabotage,” a police spokesman said.
Gulf News :: Habib Toumi :: 3 May ’06