Hands off our throats!

Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Bahraini crown prince

واعرب سمو ولي‮ ‬العهد في‮ ‬حديث لرئيس التحرير على متن الطائرة الملكية،‮ ‬عن آسفه لموقف الوزراء الذي‮ ‬وصفه بانه‮ ‬غير مسؤول من‮ »‬ربيع الثقافة‮«‬،‮ ‬وقال‮ »‬ان لا أحد قال كلمة طيبة وانا مستاء جدا وموقفي‮ ‬هذا نابع من حرصي‮ ‬على المستقبل‮«.‬

وحذر سمو ولي‮ ‬العهد من ان فكرا‮ ‬غير مسؤول وسياسات ضيقة تخدم فئة معينة،‮ ‬تهدد المواطنين والأجانب العاملين في‮ ‬القطاع المصرفي‮ ‬الذي‮ ‬يوفر نحو ‮٥.١ ‬مليار دينار لاقتصاد البحرين،‮ ‬مشيرا سموه إلى أن هذه التصرفات‮ »‬تهدد مستقبل أبنائنا وتفرح منافسينا‮«. ‬

ووجه سمو ولي‮ ‬العهد‮ »‬نداء شخصيا لكل مواطن أيا كان،‮ ‬حتى وإن كان قد عمل ضدنا في‮ ‬السابق أن‮ ‬ينتمي‮ ‬إلى حركة جديدة اصلاحية تريد الازدهار والتنمية وأن‮ ‬يتركوا عنهم الأمور التي‮ ‬تشغلنا عن الهدف الرئيسي‮«‬،‮ ‬مشددا سموه على أن ما‮ ‬يحدث في‮ ‬البحرين من مشاغبات واضطرابات لم‮ ‬يؤثر على ايمانه بالديمقراطية التي‮ ‬تحتاج فقط إلى الحوار المستمر والمشاركة والشجاعة‮.

Al-Ayam :: 2 April 2007

Finally, someone came out and unequivocally slapped those moronic Islamist MPs and put them in their place. And that someone is the crown prince, so we can expect our effervescent MPs to now dither and dodge and try diligently to look and act like headless chickens caught in heavy traffic to “revise” their positions.

Thanks your highness, you’ve set the required standard and showed not only our dear beloved elected MPs but the cowardly ministers who didn’t enough backbone to stand up to the dimwits and ensure that they protect the constitution by simply defending the guaranteed freedoms that taking a moderate line and abiding by the constitution they swore to uphold is no longer just talk but a basic requirement of their jobs.

Well done! It’s about time.

Update 4/4/07: English translation of the interview is available here

related: Gulf News coverage.

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    I think the seventies ministers had more guts, Shaik Salman needs the kind of ministers his uncle Khalifa had at the start of the Seventies. Dr Fakroo,Yousif Al Shirawi, Dr Al Baharna,Jawad Al Orayed,Sh Mohamad Bin Mubarak,etc.

  2. can we talk

    i loved his interview. I read it twice last night. we need more of the same. about the formula1, the polytechnic, the teachers training college, the spring of culture, the media.. all of it. very sensible..
    it was about time.

    the problem is that sometimes those in power are surrounded with their friends who a. don’t tell it to them like it is because they themselves are removed or are afraid to fall out of favour, and b. are not always visionaries.. there are plenty of really good people in this country who can make a difference but nobody knows about them because they are too far away. and that’s a shame because the ones who attract attention are sometimes the ones with good visible PR skills rather than those who would do a better job.

    i hope he makes more regular appearances like this. thumbs up

  3. captain Arab

    At least somebody is talking sense.. If we really think about it, we can’t serve one sector of society, and ignore the others..

    I love the pink chair… Air-bourne 😉

  4. BinShehab

    It’s very nice interview, it has some in-depth vision I hope and I wish 40% will come to reality then we will be in a better situation.

    I think we need more of these interviews from him to stress the progress and the achievement and not to forget the challenges.

  5. I

    Any chance of a translation for those of us who don’t read Arabic?

  6. Sadek

    Good on him. Somebody finally has the sense and wisdom to call a spade a spade.
    Anybody watch the LBC program two nights ago on the Bahrain Cultural Festival? If one had seen a “regressive” it was the honourable member of the bearded parliament who was one of the two people participating. Mr. Jamal Fakhro spoke by phone well.
    What was interesting was the other gentleman participating, an Egyptian, made so much sense, although he defined himself as an Islamic thinker. Of course, our bearded one disagreed with him on everything, particularly one he was advised that it was not the job of politician to restrict freedooms. The snide thing was that the bearded one was nudging and winking on Fakhro’s liberal leanings, little understanding that his views would create nothing but a theocratic, and backward, state.

  7. I

    Mahmood,
    Thanks for the link to the CP’s speech. Very, very interesting. Also it shows once again that the CP is one of the best things that has happend to Bahrain in a long time. A free thinker with the clout to make it happen for the best.
    Good luck to him. More power to his ideas.

    I

  8. doncox

    He comes across as a very sensible man. He has been around the world, looked, and done some thinking.

    His point about Spain is almost correct. In fact, after the gold ran out, Spain was worse off than before the gold era. The same will happen to some Middle East states.

    Imitating Singapore is good. Several other countries have followed this model, with good results for their economies.

  9. Sadek

    It was interesting to hear the bearded gentleman opining about the winner of Star Academy’s Iraqi winner, Shada Hassoun. Such a kill-joy. To this bearded gentleman, the program was totally inappropriate and against our religion. To him, we should all seat at home and listen to the particular and narrow interpretation that he and his ilk spew. Totally negative, although quite a few callers from Iraq said it was one of the most joyful happenings that happened to these poor suffering people – uniting them for a change. It was a joy however to see his pained and bitter face (I think he was biting his lip), when he was confronted by the callers or by the Egyptian thinker. His message all through the program is we should control you, we should define what you do and we should decide for you.
    I have to say I did not appreciate his insinuation about anybody who defines himself as a liberal or for that matter thinks differently (like the Egyptian gentleman); his implication being that if you defined yourself as such you were against religion, or at best did not understand the true interpretation.
    I wish LBC would show that program again, perhaps it would sway some people that these people are doing a great disservice to progress.

  10. can we talk

    the bearded gentleman was Bahraini parliamentarian (deputy chair) Adel AlMooawda. the Egyptian was Gamal AlBanna, younger brother of the late Hassan AlBanna who is known as the father of the Muslim Brotherhood.
    i think they shouldn’t have included the dancers in the program, because they were only the performers after all, but otherwise it was a very good show. A.M. was waving these photos of the performance, for more drama.

  11. Anonymous

    I like the comparison with singapore. Only difference is, in singapore they don’t pile dirt on public beaches and sell them off to foreigners.

  12. Pingback: Le Flambeau » Bahreïn (2/2) : démocratie numérique et machines à voter

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