A Bahraini opposition movement Haq (Right) called on the United Nations Wednesday to investigate allegations that a secret government grouping has been conspiring to fuel sectarian tensions and rig the results of upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections.
In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and delivered to Sayed Aqa, the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Bahrain coordinator, Haq called for the forming of an international fact- finding committee to scrutinize the claims made in an August report by the Gulf Centre for Democratic Development (GCDD).
The 240-page report, dubbed BandarGate after its co-author Salah al-Bandar – a Briton of Sudanese origin who was deported in September to Britain after its publication – alleged that a ring masterminded by a government minister was secretly planning to manipulate the demographic makeup of the country, through the selective granting of citizenship.
A Bahraini opposition movement Haq (Right) called on the United Nations Wednesday to investigate allegations that a secret government grouping has been conspiring to fuel sectarian tensions and rig the results of upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections.
In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and delivered to Sayed Aqa, the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Bahrain coordinator, Haq called for the forming of an international fact- finding committee to scrutinize the claims made in an August report by the Gulf Centre for Democratic Development (GCDD).
The 240-page report, dubbed BandarGate after its co-author Salah al-Bandar – a Briton of Sudanese origin who was deported in September to Britain after its publication – alleged that a ring masterminded by a government minister was secretly planning to manipulate the demographic makeup of the country, through the selective granting of citizenship.
The act of selectively granting citizenship would be carried out under the guise of creating a Shiite-Sunni balance in the country but would in fact weaken the Shiite population, 70 per cent of Bahrainis.
The report documented payments of more than 2 million bahraini dinars (5 million dollars) to government workers, journalists, members of the lower and upper houses of parliament, civil society groups, lawyers, bank officials and a Jordanian intelligence team.
It also alleged financing for election campaigns and funding for a newly established pro-government newspaper that has been accused of stoking sectarianism.
Haq’s letter also called on the UN to ensure that Bahrain complies with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it acceded in September, and for a review of Bahrain’s human rights record in line with its membership of the UN Human Rights Council.
Haq spokesman Abduljalil Alsingace told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by phone that the letter was delivered by himself and two other Haq members, including former MP Ali Rabea, and that similar letters would be sent to the US Congress and EU and British parliaments.
The US based Strategic Forecasting, Inc. in a report entitled Bahrain: Limiting the Shiite Rise published Tuesday warned that the parliamentary elections set for November 25 could trigger a fresh wave of unrest, pitting the ruling Sunni al-Khalifa family against the country’s Shiite majority.
The vote’s outcome — which could favor Shiite opposition groups – – will have significant international repercussions, the report said.
Last October, 100 leading political, religious and cultural figures handed a petition to King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa expressing shock over the allegations made in the report.
Bahrain’s king has met with some opposition members to review the claims and ordered the Bahraini government to investigate the allegations in the original report.
He also took steps to ensure those whose names appeared in the report were not involved in supervising the elections, but Haq, which distrusts the Sunni-led government is insisting on an independent inquiry.
Haq was formed as a breakaway faction from the largest Islamic Shiite opposition group al-Wefaq, after the latter decided to contest the November election. Haq is boycotting the poll.
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-Investigate-Bandargate-Scandal.html
