Bahrain Adopts ’Israel’ Strategy to Alter Demographics

Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab accused Bahrain’s ruling family of seeking to change Bahrain’s demography by adopting a strategy similar to that used by the UK in the creation of the Zionist entity.

Talking to Iranian news channel Press TV, Rajab said the systematic naturalization of foreigners and the deportation of locals after revoking their citizenships are proof that al-Khalifa family is implementing the same strategy that Britain implemented in Palestine.

Dozens of Bahrainis have had their citizenship revoked and several have also been deported since Bahrain adopted the Bahraini Citizenship Law last year stipulating that suspects convicted of “terrorist” acts could be stripped of their nationality.
“The Bahraini authorities are running out of arguments to justify repression. They are now resorting to extreme measures such as jail sentences and revoking nationality to quell dissent in the country, rather than allowing people to peacefully express their views,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director.

“Arbitrarily depriving these Bahrainis of their nationality and forcing them out of Bahrain renders them ‘stateless’ and goes contrary to Bahrain’s international obligations,” said Sahraoui.

Moreover, the Bahraini ruling family have been naturalizing foreigners since 2012 in an attempt to change the demographics of the country.

According to information, the Bahraini authorities have granted tens of thousands of people, with certain characteristics and from designated countries, Bahraini citizenship, in an attempt to create a new sectarian majority, which would deny the Shia their rightful representation in the state’s institutions.

These tactics are similar to those used by the West to alter the demography of Palestine.
Khalil al-Tafakji, a settlement and map expert in East al-Quds, asserted to al-Akhbar Lebanese daily that “Israel” has been systematically working since 1967 to turn al-Quds into a city with “Jewish” features. “In 1967, 70,000 Palestinians and not a single “Israeli” lived in [East] al-Quds, whereas today 320,000 Palestinians and at least 200,000 live in the city.”

Tafakji then said that “125,000 Palestinians have been forced by the “Israeli” occupation forces to live behind the [apartheid] wall, which means only 195,000 Palestinians are currently living in East al-Quds, making Zionist settlers the city’s majority.”
Moreover, Rajab, director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) and co-founder of Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), said that Britain has been supporting the Bahraini authorities, as well as other Gulf states, in their crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Foreign military presence and military cooperation with Western countries are common in Gulf countries.
Britain said on December 5 it had sealed a deal to open a new military base in Bahrain, its first permanent base in the Middle East since it formally withdrew from the Gulf in 1971, drawing concern from Bahraini opposition groups.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid al-Khalifa considered the agreement to be a step that bolstered “growing” cooperation between his country and the UK.
Washington is also a long-standing ally of the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty and Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

Source: al-Akhbar