Head of the Porch of Wisdom Cultural Institute speaking about KSA's military presence in Bahrain said that the Saudi family is seeking to consolidate its own situation and rule over the country.
Speaking to Iranian Quran News Agency (IQNA), Ayatollah Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani elaborated on the current situation of Bahrain and on the oppression that is being unleashed on the people of this country. "Bahrain had been part of Iran's land and at present it is one of the important bases of the US military. It is for the same reason that Bahrain features a special position. Bahrain has a small population but this country is very important for the reasons I just mentioned," he said.
"Another factor which has made the US and Arab countries to adopt a dual policy towards Bahrain as compared to other countries where popular uprisings are going on, is the ethnic combination of this country. The Shiites constitute the bulk of the population with Sunnis being in minority. That is why, the Western as well as the Arabic media that are affiliated to the same Western media deal with Bahrain issue in a different way as compared to their behavior with other countries in the region. They are describing Bahrain issue as an ethnic problem between Shiites and Sunnis whereas the fact is that what is going on in Bahrain is a popular uprising with followers of different religions standing up against the tyranny of the existing government. Therefore, the said media are collectively trying to show the ongoing Bahrain uprising as unimportant so as to deviate the attention from the interventions that are taking place in this country," Ayatollah Hadavi Tehrani was quoted as saying.
Head of the Porch of Wisdom Cultural Institute noted, "This problem has led to media boycott in the sense that they have put a ban on Bahrain related news preventing them from getting published. It is for the same reason that Iranian and other independent media all over the world have been playing the most important role in showing the tyranny and injustice that are being committed against the oppressed people of Bahrain. If these media were not there, perhaps the existing pressures by the government and other meddling countries would cause the people of Bahrain to be completely suppressed and crushed."
Lecturer at the advanced level of Islamic Seminary of Qom further elaborated on the similarities between the uprising of the people of Bahrain and those of other Islamic awakening movements in the region. He said that the people of Bahrain have risen up against tyranny and oppression in the same way as the people of Tunisia and Libya rose up against their dictatorial regimes. "The ruling regime of Bahrain has denied its people political participation. The just demand of the people of this country is that every Bahraini should be able to declare his view and have the right to vote. Unfortunately, this fair motto has been confronted in the most inhuman and brutal way," he said.
When asked about the military intervention of the Saudi family and the way it is reacting to the incidents of Bahrain, Ayatollah Hadavi Tehrani said, "The Saudi family is accusing Iran of interfering in the affairs of Bahrain and it is using this as a pretext to pave the way for its own intervention. Today, we see that the Saudi family is dealing with the affairs of this country as it wishes. It is acting independently of the Bahraini regime and at the same it is accusing Iran to justify its own interventions."
Head of the Porch of Wisdom Cultural Institute speaking about the reason behind the sensitivity of Saudi Family said, "The Saudi regime is having a shaky situation, because, years of repression and oppression against the people have led to a lot of protests which have been quelled. Moreover, Bahrain is neighboring Saudi Arabia and there is extensive cultural interaction between Bahrain and the eastern region of Saudi Arabia making the Saudi family worried about the prospect of Bahraini uprising. They say that if the uprisings in Bahrain succeed, then it would spread out to Hejaz and it will then create a serious crisis for the Saudi government which suffers an unstable position from different aspects."
Ayatollah Hadavi Tehrani said that the government of the Saudi family is cracking down on the people of Bahrain to safeguard its own position. "The pretext under which the Saudi family has moved its forces into Bahrain is the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council's joint defense agreement whereas the agreement refers to the invasion of one the gulf countries by an alien state. The problem of Bahrain is a domestic one which has nothing to do with the defense agreement," he stated.
He noted that the Saudi invasion of Bahrain is unlawful and unacceptable according to international law as well as rules of the international community.
Office of Ayatollah Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani
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