|
Bahrain wags 'measures' after Shia demo
 Bahrain warned on Saturday that it would take unspecified measures against the Gulf state's main Shiite opposition group after it organized a mass demonstration in defiance of a government ban. The Islamic National Accord Association (INAA) "will face legal measures after it organized an unlawful demonstration yesterday," Information Minister and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Abdul Ghaffar was quoted by the daily Al-Ayyam as saying. Newspapers carried a similar warning issued by the interior minister late Friday after thousands of people took to the streets of Sitra, the archipelago's third largest island located south of Manama, in response to the INAA's call to press for constitutional reforms. INAA leader Sheikh Ali Salman led the march, in which representatives of three other political groupings allied with his association - the leftist National Democratic Action Association, the Nationalist Democratic Rally, which is a pan-Arab nationalist group, and the Islamic Action Association, a Shiite grouping - also took part. The four groups have repeatedly objected to the legislative powers accorded to the Majlis al-Shura, or consultative council. They are demanding that legislative powers, as well as the authority to act as watchdog over the executive, be confined to the elected house of parliament, which, like the nominated council, has 40 members. Posted by: Fred 2005-03-28 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=60006 |