Prime minister says Bahrain will try to ease Iran-US tension
by Scheherezade Faramarzi

The Associated Press    Translate This Article
22 April 2008

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) - Bahrain will do everything it can to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran, the prime minister of this Persian Gulf island state said Monday, saying war is not the solution for the problems between the two nations.

Bahrain, a pro-Western state with Sunni Muslim rulers and a Shiite majority, is a close Washington ally and is the home base for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa told The Associated Press that Bahrain ``will always work on deflating any thought of confrontation'' with Iran, whose Persian people are predominantly Shiite.

Iran lies just a few miles from Bahrain's shores and the government in Manama believes Tehran has never really given up its territorial claim on the island. However, Khalifa insisted Iran poses no threat to his Arab nation.

In the past few months, Bahrain has seen riots and public protests by Shiites, especially in poor villages. Joblessness is believed to be one of the triggers of the disturbances.

Shiites account for about two-thirds of Bahrain's 500,000 people, and economic disparities between the ruling elite and the poorer majority have contributed to anger among Shiites.

Khalifa denied claims of discrimination against Shiites.

The government looks ``at the people of Bahrain as one people,'' he said. ``We don't like to talk even about separating the beliefs or religions among the people.''

Critics have complained about the Sunni-dominated government granting citizenship to Sunnis from Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen and Pakistan's Baluchistan province and giving them housing and jobs, often in the security forces.

Al-Khalifa defended the practice, saying the citizenship grants were going to people who had worked in Bahrain and whose families have lived on the island.

``We don't go giving our nationality to everyone who asks for it. There are rules,'' he said, adding that Shiites and non-Muslims, including Christian Arabs, had also become Bahraini citizens.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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