Bahrain’s Shia opposition boycotts parliament opening
(AFP)
15 December 2006
MANAMA – Bahrain’s Shia opposition movement, buoyed by a strong showing in elections, said it would boycott on Friday’s opening of the newly elected parliament in protest over the makeup of the new cabinet.
The Islamic National Accord Association announced at a meeting before the parliament session it was also protesting what it claims is royal interference in the distribution of posts within the parliament.
King Hamad was due to open parliament at 1400 GMT.
The INAA, which posted stunning gains in two-stage elections in November and December, is seeking a greater say in the Sunni-ruled island state’s affairs.
Bahrain’s Shia opposition boycotts parliament opening
(AFP)
15 December 2006
MANAMA – Bahrain’s Shia opposition movement, buoyed by a strong showing in elections, said it would boycott on Friday’s opening of the newly elected parliament in protest over the makeup of the new cabinet.
The Islamic National Accord Association announced at a meeting before the parliament session it was also protesting what it claims is royal interference in the distribution of posts within the parliament.
King Hamad was due to open parliament at 1400 GMT.
The INAA, which posted stunning gains in two-stage elections in November and December, is seeking a greater say in the Sunni-ruled island state’s affairs.
“There is great dismay over the formation of the new government because there were no consultations with the political forces in Bahrain,” INAA leader Sheikh Ali Salman said after the new cabinet held its first meeting Wednesday.
“The way the government was formed confirms the negative policy of ignoring and marginalising the opposition.”
He described as “merely a token” the naming of Nizar Al Baharna, who is close to INAA, as minister of state for foreign affairs in the 24-strong cabinet.
And he protested at the inclusion of Sheikh Ahmad bin Atiyatullah Al Khalifa as minister for cabinet affairs.
The minister was accused by an alleged British spy of heading a ”secret organisation” within the government aiming to maintain Sunni domination of the Shia-majority Gulf kingdom.
The INAA won 17 of 40 seats in parliament. Counting Sunni Muslim groups, Islamists control three-quarters of the seats in a country considered liberal by the standards of the conservative Gulf region.
During the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa urged all ministers to work with a “team spirit” and called for greater transparency in government dealings.
Sheikh Khalifa, whose country is a close US ally and hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been prime minister ever since independence in 1971.
The latest elections were the second since parliament was revived after being scrapped in 1975.
The Shias boycotted the first such polls, in 2002, in protest at the split of legislative powers between parliament and an equally numbered upper chamber appointed by the king, which can block parliamentary initiatives.
