Nasrallah Calls Bahraini Regime’s Move against Sheikh Qassem 'Dangerous'
Addressing a ceremony held on Friday to commemorate martyred Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah regretted that the Manama regime cracks down on the people’s peaceful and legitimate demonstrations, rejects the opposition’s calls for dialogue and and seeks to isolate religious leaders and scholars.
He said such measures have been dictated by the Al Saud regime because Riyadh is frightened at the prospects of successful national dialogue in Bahrain, which would mean that it also will have to carry out reforms.
Nasrallah noted that Sheikh Qassem is worthy of winning the Nobel Peace prize because he and others like him prevented the anti-regime demonstrations in Bahrain from getting violent.
He underlined that the world community is duty-bound to prevent the Manama regime’s ruling against Sheikh Qassem from being carried out.
On Monday, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry accused Sheikh Qassem, the tiny island's most prominent Shia cleric, of seeking the "creation of a sectarian environment” through his connections with foreign powers.
The move has raised fears of further unrest in the tiny Persian Gulf country which is already the scene of regular anti-regime demonstrations.
The latest measure by the Bahraini regime against the Shia cleric came less than a week after the Bahraini Justice Ministry suspended all activities of al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the main opposition group in the country.
The kingdom also dissolved two other opposition groups, namely al-Tawiya and al-Risala Islamic associations.
Al-Wefaq’s Secretary General Sheikh Ali Salman has been in prison since December 2014 on charges of attempting to overthrow the regime and collaborating with foreign powers, which he has denied.
Since mid-February 2011, Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests demanding that the ruling family relinquish power.
The Al Khalifah regime is engaged in a harsh crackdown on dissent and widespread discrimination against the country's Shia majority. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the island country.
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