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| Arabia |
| Bahraini party rejects solidarity with Saudi |
| 2009-11-14 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Bahrain's al-Wefaq National Islamic Society stirred controversy after refusing to sign a statement expressing its solidarity with Saudi Arabia in its war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to news reports late on Thursday. The Shiite Wefaq party, which occupies 17 out of 40 seats in the Bahraini parliament, justified its decision by stating it is against any intervention in the internal affairs of neighboring states, a stance that was slammed by the party's critics. The parliament of Bahrain issued a statement supporting Saudi's war against the Houthi insurgency in Yemen and considered any attack on Saudi Arabia an attack on Bahrain. The statement was endorsed by a majority of MPs. Wefaq's stance is in line with the laws of the Bahrain's Foreign Ministry, which rejects any intervention in other countries affairs, said party MP Mohamed al-Mazaal. "In addition, the party is in favor of looking for peaceful solutions to any conflict that takes place between Arab countries," he told Al Arabiya in a phone interview. Although Mazaal asserted that the security of Saudi Arabia is of high importance to his party and to Bahrain as a whole, he explained that had reservations about the way the statement draft was circulated amongst MPs. |
| Posted by:Fred |