Bahrain Mirror: The former Secretary-General of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad), Ibrahim Sharif, who has been recently released, said in a statement to Monte Carlo Doualiya Arabic that his moves in the coming period will be made according to the lines drawn by the Manama Document. He also stressed that all the factions of the Bahraini opposition can gather under the umbrella of the Manama Document, highlighting the necessity of keeping the popular movement away from violence. Sharif also stated that he had learned a lot while he was serving his term in prison.

Sharif pointed out that he lived two periods in prison: "the first three months were marked with ongoing torture. Whereas, I spent the second period with a group of Shiite leaders; some were politicians, some were experts in the human rights field and others were independent. They isolated us from other political prisoners. Prison is a school and I learned a lot while I was there."

Being asked about his mission after his release, Sharif answered, "it is a big mission; it is like that of our brothers in the opposition. We have the Manama Document, which is a main document upon which most of the opposition factions agreed. I think this document is enough to make us gather other opposition forces and bring us very close together."

Sharif highlighted the necessity of keeping this popular movement ethical by not resorting to violence or insulting others. He further stated that he is following the cases of more than two thousands detainees in Bahrain.

Concerning the verdict of the Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic society, Sheikh Ali Salman, and his ( Ibrahim Sharif's) release,Sharif said: "I don't know what is going on in the authority's backstage. For instance, I spent in prison the same period as Mr. Salah Al-Khawaja and both of us were sentenced to five years. I was released yet he was not."

Responding to the question about whether he is going back to work in the National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad), Sharif stressed that he will, clarifying that leaving the post of the Secretary-General of the society and not nominating himself for the election while in prison was among his vision regarding the need to have a democratic turnover of posts in the society through elections.

Ibrahim Sharif declared that he is committed towards the people who supported him and that he will not rest "until the last prisoner is released" and "until the parents of martyrs are treated fairly and the last suppressed citizen attains his rights".

"We haven't backed down. There are resilient leaders and resilient people. We have a long way to achieve victory not only for the opposition but also for the country," he added.

The Arabic Issue