Parliamentary committee to summon British envoy
Aparliamentary committee is seeking summoning of the British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain as assaults against Bahraini citizens and officials in the United Kingdom have increased lately.
This comes as a senior Bahraini official was recently attacked in London by alleged Bahraini activists in Britain, who are apparently “provided with a political cover by the British authorities”. The incident was the second of its kind in one week.
Revealing some of the incidents that are taking place in the British Capital, Foreign Affairs, National Security and Defence Parliamentary Committee Head Abdullah Binhowail confirmed to DT News yesterday that “there are 12 complaints registered at British police stations against members of terrorist movements who are granted political asylum in Britain”.
On the sidelines of the weekly Parliament meeting that took place in Gudaibiya yesterday, Binhowail commented on the video footage that was posted on the internet yesterday, showing Southern Governorate Police Director Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa being verbally assaulted in London, while on a vacation with his family members.
“They cowardly attacked them physically while they were exiting a zoo in the British capital. They also robbed the women’s purses and children’s toys,” Binhowail revealed.
He confirmed that “this is not the first case of its kind to occur against Bahrainis in Britain lately,” stating that “there have been 12 registered and documented assaults on Bahrainis in London lately”.
The lawmaker stressed that “any assaults or harassments against Bahrainis are highly condemned,” clarifying that “physical harassments aren’t part of freedom of expression as how the matter is being portrayed”.
“This incident took place in front of Shaikh Khalifa’s family. His wife told the harassers to leave them alone, but they ignored her pleas,” Binhowail said. He disclosed that the people behind the attack were involved in the February 14 terrorist movement, which was behind a number of terrorist activities in Bahrain during the past few years.
“They are connected to members of the same terrorist group in Bahrain and work together to destabilise the country’s security,” he affirmed.
The MP explained that “the group aims at harming the exceptional Bahraini-British relations and understandings”.
“They’re seeking to destroy the joint ties between both the countries, especially after the announcement of establishing the new British naval base in Bahrain few weeks back. They have actually themed the ongoing week as the week to combat the establishment of the base, and they’ll do anything to reach their extremist goals,” Binhowail remarked.
“Bahraini-British relations are entering a new phase of cooperation. Sparking sedition and chaos in both the countries is what these groups are looking for to negatively affect the joint ties,” he further said.
The legislator called upon the British authorities to look into the recurrent assaults on Bahrainis in the UK, demanding stern formal procedures that are more than just “repeated statements”.
“What if situations were the other way around?” he questioned, adding that “Bahrain provides all protection possible to British diplomats, officials and citizens, why wouldn’t Britain do the same and ensure the safety of our citizens”.
This is the second assault on a Bahraini official in London in one week. DT News had reported yesterday that Bahraini Ambassador to London Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa was recently harassed by a group of individuals in similar situations. However, it was confirmed that formal procedures were being undertaken in this regard. It was also revealed that the attackers were a group of wanted fugitives, who were escaping sentences up to 15 years of imprisonment.
Photo Caption: Abdullah Binhowail
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