KUWAIT CITY, March 4: Higher authorities in the Gulf states are pleased with the steps taken by the Bahraini leadership in resolving the ongoing impasse in Manama. What is notable is the determination of King Hamad Bin Essa Al-Khalifa to benefit from political agitations to step up development that suits the reform policy, which he started ten years ago.

Sources in capitals of some Gulf countries regard the march by 350,000 people in Bahrain a few days ago, which was the second of its kind within a month, as an expression of loyalty to the King and the ruling family. It was a historic oath of allegiance by all segments of the society to support the ruling family in building a united nation under leadership of Al-Khalifa.

Sources affirmed that cooperation within the ruling family in Manama is immense and it is geared to face challenges with the language of unity. This kind of bond is enough to suppress
illusions in the minds of some people who are planning to enforce personal ideology or unreasonable conditions. The oath of allegiance revealed the political weight of some factions who are trying to overrate themselves due to the silence of the majority of the citizens. Sources added that the leadership exhibited exceptional wisdom in resolving the recent crisis through dialogue and handling of people with leniency. That was the right expression for fatherly feelings of King Hamad Bin Essa towards citizens and unrelenting efforts to meet desires of people in line with the capabilities of the nation. This is what we can call laying down a new foundation for building a contemporary Bahrain.       

Since ties of the Gulf states are based on cooperation, dialogue and brotherhood, Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa recently visited Kuwait, Doha and Riyadh to clarify the situation in Bahrain and put things in the right perspective. The three nations were pleased with the explanations and talks have become the foundation for Gulf states to translate agreements reached by the GCC nations to overcome obstacles facing any of the countries into action.

Referring to internal affairs of Bahrain, sources said strong historical ties, which led to positive relationship between the ruling family and citizens, bond the ruling family. The Kingdom of Bahrain is able to overcome political obstacles due to its political leadership’s efforts to ensure that national interests take precedence in the scheme of affairs. The recent dialogue, in which the Crown Prince represented King Hamad Bin Essa Al-Khalifa, was an expression of an open door policy and was undeterred by slogans of minority adventurers who do not represent citizens.   

Higher authorities in Gulf states therefore realized that procedures taken by King Hamad Bin Essa Al-Khalifa will lead the country towards a new dawn. The cabinet reshuffle, amnesty to some convicts and setting up of a fact-finding committee to investigate the Manama incident were steps in the right direction. It indicates that Bahrain is building a contemporary institutional state that can uplift activities of the past ten years.