Jalal Fairooz - Former Bahraini Opposition MP HARDtalk


Jalal Fairooz -  Former Bahraini Opposition MP

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Coming up next on BBC News it's HARDtalk. Zeinab Badawi speaks to

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Parliament in Bahrain, Jalal Fairooz.

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Have the authorities in Bahrain learned any lessons from their

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suppression last year's anti- government protests which sparked

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widespread condemnation or are they still clamping down on the

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opposition? A few weeks ago the government banned all rallies and

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gatherings saying they were associated with violence and

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rioting. They also revoked the Bahraini nationality of 31

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individuals, allegedly for threatening national security. My

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guest today on HARDtalk is one of main opposition Shia political

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group Al-Wefaq. Jalal Fairooz, welcome to HARDtalk.

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Thank you. You have been stripped of your Bahraini nationality, what

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do you think the authorities have on you? They failed to say. I have

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neverhave never been called to go to the

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police. I have been a prominent figure of Bahrain, I served Bahrain

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for so many for so many have been the deputy chair of the major

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committees in the parliament, I have been at an international

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representative of Bahrain, I was elected as vice-chair of human

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rights and democracy by the IPU. I have never had any problem. Because

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of my outsp of my outspman rights in Bahrain, they were not

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happy about that. Fahad al-Binali told the BBC after your nationality

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was revoked that they had done this as a matter of national security,

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he said the decision was not taken lightly. They have done things for

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no reason. There have been some people accused of jeopardising

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national security. If they want to do it, they need to go to court. As

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the 1963 law says, it has to be proven that I have done anything.

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The Human Rights Declaration, article 15, it is very clear that

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you cannot make anyone status. were teaching business and were an

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instructor in the USA when you got this news? Yes. They should have at

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least called me in. I have only received threats over the telephone

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talking to the international media. You can I do that. Fahad al-Binali

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the decision. This is a joke. One of the 30 is a lawyer, he tried to

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appeal. Are you going to appeal? spoke to a lawyer, they say, let's

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try. Another person tried, you cannot even issue a letter of

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delegation to that lawyer. There is no way you can do the appeal. What

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do you appealed to? There is no independent judiciary system in

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Bahrain. What are you going to do? You are stateless, your three

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children between 16-21, they might have their nationality revoked, you

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are seeking asylum in the UK? the only country around the world

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where they revoke nationalities. You do not understand why they

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would do that. If they have anything against me they can take

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me to court. Let me try and defend myself. They have not done that. I

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do not know what to do. Had he sought asylum in the UK? Yes, I did.

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But actually, I like my country. My parents, and sisters are Bahraini.

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I have never been in any country for several weeks. How does this

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make you feel? I am proud of Bahrain, I'm proud of my country. I

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did work for the progressive three forces in Bahrain. The problem is

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that there is no actual reform. The dictatorship is predominant. People

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are seen in Bahrain, the government is saying, they have to be quite

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tough on dissidents because of the spate of bombings in November, we

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also had a anti-government protests that end violence in November. --

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than 14 months there has not been any violence at all. Is that really

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the case? There was a village in Akar, outside Manama, anti-

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government protests. One policeman died as a result of a bomb. There

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have been other examples of violence in villages outside the

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capital. That particular case, the government said there was a bombing.

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The UK, the US, they can dent that. After 24 hours there was a

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statement, we are sorry, it was not a bomb. -- condemned. There have

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been other clashes, Molotov cocktails used against the police.

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Actually, in the parliament just three months ago, since the

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beginning of the uprising, just after that first week, until that

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time, we are talking about 15 months, there had not been a single

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police casualty. Whatever is being called bombing is just like booby-

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traps. Two migrant workers were killed. That was on 5th November.

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Of course. The government is not necessarily over-reacting. ily over-reacting.

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something that any government would look upon as serious. Al-Wefaq

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lot of ambiguity around it. Some intelligence sources in the West

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have said we do not believe the people are behind it. That has not

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been corroborated. The rallies were not be tolerated because people's

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lives are being threatened. The government has the responsibility

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to bring in peace. The opposition parties, until the prohibition of

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the demonstrations, every week, one or two demonstrations. There was no

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violence. What they are calling violence, you attack the wives and

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the mothers. Teenagers, what do you expect from them? We have been

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trying to stop the people from going to violence. There is a

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document which was signed As the Foreign Secretary, William

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Hague, said, it was very good that you did that. He said he urges

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other opposition to do that. But put it to you that the February

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14th Movement, made up of youths, are resorting to violence. Do you

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perpetrating acts of violence. You littlee a

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little bit impatient. That is a that in Northern Ireland. People

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are so frustrated because they do not see a light at the end of the

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single Molotov cocktail that has been thrown out, the person who

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threw it, h threw it, hail. What happened to the violence, you can

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see it on YouTube. Molotov cocktails a cocktails athrown on

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people by police. All the violence is being perpetrated by the police.

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How many police are behind bars because of violations of human

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authorities say that after the protests started last year, we set

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up an independent commission of inquiry, we are learning the

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lessons from that repression. Some people say 35 people died, others

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say 80. You mean things will not recur. The problem is, twice as

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many people have been killed by the violence. That happened after

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Bassiouni. Yes, he chaired the commission. 17 of them married

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teenagers. 23 of them are about 60 years-old. They have been killed

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arbitrarily by police. Since the government introduced the

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recommendations of the independent commission? That is not what the

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government spokesman is saying. He says there is 122 cases under

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investigation to deal with complaints. 12 cases have been

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referred to court. The BICI Has recorded hundreds of cases of

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torture. There are around 70 types of violations. The government say

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they accept 122 cases. They have referred to referred to Out

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of these, how many of these have been put to trial? We cannot look

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at individual cases. The point I'm making to you, it is not just the

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Bahraini authorities saying they have brought in these reforms.

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Legal and law-enforcement systems have been overhauled so you do not

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have military tribunals anymore. It is not just them saying we have

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done this, the bridge government is saying that of the 176

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recommendations 143 have been taken up. -- British Government. It does

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not say that they have applied them. In the House of Lords the minister

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said that the Bahraini authorities are trying to make progress on

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these matters and we are supporting them in doing that. The problem is,

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they need to stop torture. Up until today there is torture. Just two

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weeks ago they said reforms, torture is going on daily,

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repression continues. Yesterday one person died. The repression is

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continuing. We have not had a Amnesty International. I can say

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that an independent analyst like Michael Stevens who says security

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reforms have been comprehensive. Hillary Clinton said it is easy to

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see the glass as half empty, I see it as half full. Do you give the

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They have not refrained from violating human rights. They have

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demolished over 40 mosques. Five have been rebuilt. To backwoods ago,

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-- two weeks ago he could see them. They are not stopping the killing

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of Human Rights said Derry's -- said there is no serious are

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playing of the recommendations. You're making serious allegations.

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They say they are trying to make would have lasted, but I am

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bewildered by the level of criticism by a nation that has a

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knowledge mistakes and has plans in place to put things right. Give

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them a chance. We want to see them stopping the way a measure of human

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rights. They have revoked nationalities. There has been the

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demolition of mosques. They have killed people and raided houses. I

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am a saying that, I am referring to Human Rights Watch. It is all being

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so that they ran no serious measures. They write what is its

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recommendations -- and there are 26 recommendations. Only are three of

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them have been... As his us what the British government has said.

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This is the Geneva Convention. fact of the matter is that the Shia

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populations, the discontent among the population goes back many years.

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Your party was set up in 2001. What is it that you want? Was changed

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you want? We are seeing what the American government has been saying.

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We need to integrate what the people. The divorce a single shares

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in the army. In the police force you will see a relief 2% Shia. In

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the cavernous Darrell Lea a few. Today they have been new

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been a few appointments. You just quoted the US deputy of state.

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President Obama said last year that the patriotism that binds the

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country together must be more powerful than the six areas and

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that tears them apart. -- the sectarianism. What is it you want?

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We want dignity, human-rights. We are grateful for the constitution.

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We want to stop corruption. want the King to have no power. At

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the moment he has the power to appoint the upper chamber in

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Parliament and nominates the Cabinet ministers. In a third are

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wary this year -- in February this year he said we have made political

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dismiss the government. All ministerial appointments Bahrain

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approved by Parliament. The lower house of parliament is totally

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elected. You were a member of this Parliament. Given credits. You are

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saying that the lower house is being elected. It is dominated by

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the upper house which has been appointed by pro-government groups.

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You were elected. Al-Wefaq have 62.5 % of the vote. We have run the

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reason misusing of districts. I was voted for. Other districts are a

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quarter of this size and population of mind. In 2010 you had an

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election. Y election. Yw saying that actually you have your finger on

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the pulse of the vast majority of the populat the populats not really

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the shears. -- Shia. It is just the opposition vote. They are all

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together. Your mother is Iranian. The spokesperson on the government,

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her mother her mother n. One-third of the population of Bahrain is

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originally from Iran. Who has done the hatred? The government

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institutions. Every day they are promoting hatred. You have the

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prince of the Sony, I met Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain. He is

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reaching out to everybody. Wade and Sue engage in a dialogue? -- Why

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don't you. If you look at the Minister of Information, she says

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the party is seen as a Trojan horse for Iranian interests. It is not

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says She says the group is sectarian him

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nature and fulfils the aspirations of Iran. That is a nasty claim we

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will have to take her to court about it. She is a seat to shake

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A lot of prominent opposition members are in jail. The government

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has made al has made altarian hatred. In Bahrain, 7% of the higher ranks

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in the Government's arts sheer force of -- are Shia. One anonymous

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certain that the dynasty will fall. Is he right? Probably. This

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government is not looking at the best interests of the people. They

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need to come to way common ground. We once a legitimate dialogue.

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want to be citizens, not prevented from joining certain sectors of

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society? The race bad discrimination. -- and there is bad

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discrimination. We want to see people altogether. There has to be

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accountability. People have all the right. We h right. We hd.

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The government says they do not refer

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refer to the State Department. Look have the equally for a legitimate

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