Move against Sheikh Qassim Beginning of End for Al Khalifa: Bahraini Figure
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Bahraini opposition figure described a recent move by Bahrain’s ruling regime against top cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim as a last-ditch attempt to put an end to the country’s popular revolution.
Speaking to Tasnim, Sheikh Abdullah Saleh, the deputy secretary general of Bahrain’s Islamic Action Society, referred to Al Khalifa regime’s attempts against the revolution since its beginning, noting that all of those moves have failed.
They targeted people, arrested scholars and prominent figures, suspended opposition groups, and even jailed children, but failed to stop the uprising, he said.
“The move against Sheikh Qassim is their last resort and it has clearly targeted Shiites,” he added.
“We have been targeted by the regime with the aim of putting an end to Shiites’ presence in Bahrain,” Sheikh Saleh warned.
He stressed that taking the measure against Sheikh Qassim, who always called for moderation and peace, is a beginning for people to get united under a single banner and, with one voice, call for the ouster of Al Khalifa.
Last week, the Manama ruling regime said the citizenship of Sheikh Qassim has been revoked, accusing him of sowing sectarian divisions.
The move drew widespread criticism worldwide.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.
Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition groups and anti-regime protesters.
