Gulf Daily News – Vol XXVIII – No. 238 – Sunday 13 November 2005
OFFICIALS at the Forum for the Future refused entry to a human rights activist yesterday, writes KANWAL HAMEED.
President of the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, was among the six human rights activists nominated to attend the forum following a workshop held in Doha, Qatar.
They were set to present the workshop’s recommendations to the meeting, attended by foreign ministers of the Broader Middle East and Northern Africa (BMENA) region and the Group of Eight (G8) industrial democracies.
Gulf Daily News – Vol XXVIII – No. 238 – Sunday 13 November 2005
OFFICIALS at the Forum for the Future refused entry to a human rights activist yesterday, writes KANWAL HAMEED.
President of the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, was among the six human rights activists nominated to attend the forum following a workshop held in Doha, Qatar.
They were set to present the workshop’s recommendations to the meeting, attended by foreign ministers of the Broader Middle East and Northern Africa (BMENA) region and the Group of Eight (G8) industrial democracies.
Officials received information that the five activists would attend days in advance and Mr Al Khawaja completed an application form but a pass was not produced, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Bahi-al-deen Hassan told the GDN.
The remaining five members of the delegation made the decision not to replace Mr Al Khawaja and filed a complaint to officials at the forum. “We raised a complaint with a delegation of nominees from civil societies and expressed to the chairs of the conference (UK and Bahrain) that the decision was unacceptable,” he said.
Mr Hassan said organisers in Doha had allegedly received information from the British Foreign Ministry specifying that the Bahrain authorities did not agree that with Mr Al Khawaja present recommendations at the forum.
The recommendations which were presented by the five activists called for the setting up of a network of non-governmental organisations to follow up the progress of reforms in the region in line with the forum’s objectives.