Bahraini opposition voices backing to reforms
Bahrain, Politics, 2/16/2001

The Shiite Bahraini opposition on Thursday voted for the reforms started already by the ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad Bin Issa al-Khaleifa in the second day of the referendum for the national charter, which was characterized by intensive people's turnout on the election.

The leader of the opposition Sheikh Abdul Ameer al-Jamri said " I have voted yes for the charter." Al-Jamri cast his vote on Thursday in a Shiite village to the north of al-Manama and he did not rule out that voting on the Charter to be 100% in the referendum. The same result was expected by the Bahraini minister of information Muhammad Ibrahim al-Mutawi.

On Wednesday al-Mutawi told the pressmen " we expect yest for the charter at 100%" noting the " strong participation " in the first days of the referendum.

A great turnout was noticed in the 47 voting centers in Bahrain especially in the Shiite villages which surround al-Manama where women headed in huge number to the voting centers and they were waiting in long separate queue apart from men.

Bahrain had solved the first elected council ( Parliament) in 1975 after two years of its election and this resulted in to long years of protest carried out by Muslim Shiite, who are the majority, calling on the government led by the Sunni to undergo political and economic reforms.

Bahrain, which is the banking and financial center in the Gulf has now a Shoura council composed of 40 members to give consultation to the government in draft resolutions before these resolutions are sent to the Emir of the country for ratification. However, political parties are banned in Bahrain.The Bahraini minister of information al-Mutawi said in statements published in the local dailies on Thursday that " there is now any prisoner for national security crimes and this was after the giving of the Emir in issued an Amnesty for almost 900 persons including besides prisoners others who fled out of the country.

However, the Bahraini human rights committee said that three Bahrainis that the Islamic front for the Liberation of Bahrain ( opposition) said on Thursday that the Bahraini authorities prevented them from returning back to the country, had entered on Tuesday in Bahrain.

The committee's deputy chairman Salman kamal eddine told pressmen that " Muhammad Hassan Salman Zayed, Amina al-Hilwaji and Khajija Gharib entered the country after they were held for 24 hours at al-Manama airport.

Kamal eddine was replying to what was announced by the Islamic front in a statement circulated in Beirut that the three persons which it introduced as opposition members, were prevented from entering the country.

Previous Stories:
  The first referendum on political reform in Bahrain   (2/15/2001)
  Bahrain 's foreign minister gets a message from Iranian counterpart   (2/14/2001)
  Al-Assad arrives in Bahrain   (2/13/2001)

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