‘It is the Kingdom’s internal matter’
Meera Ravi
Staff Correspondent
Doubts over self-proclaimed rights activist Salah Al Bandar’s mountain of evidence deepened yesterday when the American, British and German embassies in Bahrain responded to the Tribune’s questions with different answers.
It may be recalled that Al Bandar had stated he had dispatched copies of his ‘evidence’ to three embassies, complete with documents of proof of whatever his accusations were. When the Tribune asked officials yesterday at the US embassy if they had received such a document, they replied with an official statement that they did not wish to comment on the matter in any fashion whatsoever. The German Embassy Press attaché Thomas Korke categorically denied that the Germans had received such a document or even a summary of the same. He said the German Embassy wanted it on record that they were not recipients of any such document.
‘It is the Kingdom’s internal matter’
Meera Ravi
Staff Correspondent
Doubts over self-proclaimed rights activist Salah Al Bandar’s mountain of evidence deepened yesterday when the American, British and German embassies in Bahrain responded to the Tribune’s questions with different answers.
It may be recalled that Al Bandar had stated he had dispatched copies of his ‘evidence’ to three embassies, complete with documents of proof of whatever his accusations were. When the Tribune asked officials yesterday at the US embassy if they had received such a document, they replied with an official statement that they did not wish to comment on the matter in any fashion whatsoever. The German Embassy Press attaché Thomas Korke categorically denied that the Germans had received such a document or even a summary of the same. He said the German Embassy wanted it on record that they were not recipients of any such document.
A spokesman for the British Embassy confirmed that the embassy had indeed received Al Bandar’s dossier but distanced itself from the issue by adding that anything recorded in the document was an internal matter for the Bahrain government and that the British Government felt it was up to the Bahrain government to deal with the matter as it deemed fit and it had no further comment to make on the issue. The denouncement of his methods in not just selectively sending these reports but in his being motivated out of a sense of revenge was dramatically stated by the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Shaikh Ahmed bin Atiyatallah, yesterday.
While counterfeit reports have been circulated over the Net with different names thereby adding to the confusion it seems there is more dust than substance in the ongoing saga. With the elections still three months away it would be sad if character assassination became an element in the elections which promise so much to so many.
Article from: Bahrain Tribune Newspaper- www.BahrainTribune.com
