Bahrain Mirror: Deputy Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society Sheikh Hussein Al-Daihi stressed that Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani was a mediator in a joint Saudi-US initiative to settle the political dispute in Bahrain.

Bahrain yesterday accused Al-Wefaq Secretary General and opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman of colluding with Qatar, charges based on phone call recordings, aired on Bahrain state television, between Sheikh Salman and Hamad bin Jassim, during which they discussed reaching an agreement to stop the bloodshed.

Al-Daihi stated that "the said initiative was made with the consent of King Hamad and followed up by the Crown Prince," noting that Hamad bin Jassim was the guest of the Bahraini King when he made the phone calls with opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman.

Al-Daihi further described Sheikh Salman's accusations as "malicious" adding that they are part of the dispute between Bahrain and Qatar which is part of the dispute between a number of Gulf states and Qatar.

He confirmed that the phone calls were part of a Saudi, Qatari and US initiative to solve the political crisis between the Bahraini people and the regime in 2011 after the eruption of the nationwide popular movement in Bahrain in 2011.

The deputy Secretary General also challenged the Bahraini regime to publish the full recordings between Sheikh Ali Salman and former Qatari PM Hamad bin Jassim to reveal to the local and international communities the details of the Qatari initiative.

He explained that the political utilization of the judiciary proves the validity of the opposition's stance in demanding an independent and impartial judicial system.

Al-Daihi said the calls were made at the demand of Bahrain's king who knew everything about the calls and meetings that happened, pointing out that the king was a main part in the initiative. "The King and Crown Prince were the parties representing the ruling family in the dialogue with Sheikh Ali Salman who represents the national opposition."

Deputy Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society Sheikh Hussein Al-Daihi disclosed that the Saudi, US and Qatari initiative, including the phone calls of the former Qatari PM, were made based on a request from the former Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Saud Al-Faisal and followed by the then United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, from the American side. "All the phone calls were aimed at being a mediation between the two disputing parties, the regime and the people."

Sheikh Hussein Al-Daihi further stated that the government recorded the calls, cut and chose parts of them in a way that would incriminate Qatar, due to the dispute between the Gulf States and Qatar. The government also sought to accuse Sheikh Ali Salman in an attempt to delude the public opinion that these calls were conspiratorial.

Arabic Version