Al Quds rally is called off in Bahrain

AN annual march in support of the Palestinian Intifada was yesterday cancelled.

More than 20,000 people of all faiths were expected to turn out for the demonstration from Bahrain Mall to Dana Mall yesterday afternoon but organisers were forced to pull the plug a matter of hours before it was due to start.

However, a separate Al Quds Day celebration went ahead as planned in Billad Al Qadeem last night.

The Interior Ministry had issued an order as early as last Saturday for the march to be cancelled but it was left until the last minute to officially call it off, as leaders battled to overturn the decision.

Speaking to the GDN yesterday, organising committee head Dr Maitham Al Salman expressed his disappointment at the cancellation.

“We have been holding this event for the last 10 years. It is a peaceful demo involving representatives from all political parties,” he said.

“The ministry asked us on August 28 to stop the demonstration.

“However, we did not lose hope and entered into discussions with those concerned. When it got to last night and we could not reach a conclusion, we had to inform people that it was cancelled.

“We are very disappointed but there is nothing we can do. It is always held on the last Friday of Ramadan, so we will now have to wait until next year.”

Run by a group of political, religious and social organisations, the event was being staged to mark International Al Quds (Jerusalem) Day. Organisers had set up banners and advertisements for the march across the country and promoted it through specialised pages on Facebook and Twitter.

More than 10,000 people attended the Al Quds Day celebration in Billad Al Qadeem, which featured speeches by prominent religious and political figures on the plight of the Palestinian people.

“They (the ministry) wanted to cancel both events but political figures intervened and so they allowed the second celebration to go ahead,” Dr Al Salman said.

The cancellation of the rally followed calls by Dr Al Salman earlier this week for participants to ensure a peaceful day. He advised people to bring only Palestine-related flags and banners to reflect unity against normalisation with the Zionists.

A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry had no comment to make on the is