Bahrain's opposition to submit evidence to commission, undecided on talks

Bahrain's largest opposition group said on Wednesday they have documented thousands of cases of citizens affected during the unrest, which it intends to share with officials on board a high profile independent commission formed by the government.

"We have several evidences that will be presented to members heading this commission to probe the reasons behind the unrest," said former Al Wefaq MP Syed Hadi Al Mousawi.

He was speaking at a press conference organized by the society a day after he pulled out of the national dialogue, after MP Jassim Al Saidi called the society and its supporters "Rawfedh," during one of the sessions.

Al Mousawi said they have informed the Al Wefaq secretariat to pull out of the talks after the incident but said, "No final decision was taken whether to attend the session on Thursday."

"We are a credible organization and will not be affected by such actions. Al Wefaq always believe in national interest first and it's up to our secretariat to decide on our future plan," said former MP Khalil Al Marzooq, who also chaired the conference.

The fact finding commission was formed by the government earlier this month that would be headed by war crimes expert Professor Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni. Bassiouni is heading the fact finding commission that will discuss all aspects and reasons behind the unrest.

The commission has been appointed by King Hamad which includes former International Criminal Court president Judge Phillipe Kirsch, former UN special rapporteur on human rights Nigel Rodley, international legal expert Dr Mahnoush Arsanjani and Sharia (Islamic law) specialist Dr Badria Al Awadhi.

Al Wefaq decided at the last minute to take part in the dialogue earlier this month as it questioned the process and said opposition groups were sidelined in the dialogue.

The national dialogue, which focuses on four main areas, including politics, economy, social issues and human rights, was called by the Bahraini leadership last month and aims at bringing together various segments of the Bahraini society to present the people's views and demands for further reforms in the country.

Over 300 participants from political societies, human rights groups, women groups, nongovernmental organizations, unions, religious academies and expatriate groups are taking part in the high-level talks. The talks are held at Isa Cultural Center in Juffair three times a week and the sessions are supposed to extend until a consensus is reached among all parties.

Source: Xinhua

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