Bahrain Mirror (2019 Roundup): The country witnessed a whirlpool after Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman visited Ayatollah Sayed Abdullah Al-Ghuraifi in his home on May 1st. Al-Ghuraifi hoped during the visit that there will be political determination to reform the current situation in Bahrain and said that "all the concerns of the people of Bahrain are not too big compared to the will of the King, Prime Minister and Crown Prince." This meeting changed the stagnant atmosphere in the country and raised Bahrainis' anticipations and hopes.

On May 3, apparently in response to directives within the ruling family, the Prime Minister's court noted that the visit the PM paid was in response to Al-Ghuraifi's visit to offer his condolences for the death of Al Khalifa's sister.

The popular reactions hailing this step continued, hoping to open lines of communication that will solve the aggravated political situation in the country since eight years ago. This was reinforced by the initiative made by a number of MPs on May 8 during a visit to Al-Ghuraifi's house, during which they stressed the importance of mutual visits between the different groups of society due to their fruitful effects.

The MPs (Mamdouh Al-Saleh, Khalid Bu Onq, Ibrahim Al-Nafie, Mahmoud Al-Bahrani, Ghazi Al Rahma, Ammar Al Abbas and former municipal member Mohammad Al-Mutawa) called during their visit for further national initiatives and steps that would preserve security and stability in the country, and find solutions for various urgent issues on Bahrain's political, social and security levels.

The MPs praised the mutual fraternal visits and communication between the Prime Minister and Al-Ghuraifi, explaining that these visits calmed down the Bahraini people for the good results they sought socially and politically and left an optimistic effect on people. The MPs praised Al-Ghuraifi's efforts in opening up prospects for cooperation and strengthening relations with the kingdom's political leadership.

At this point, the counter-movement began with a massive criminal campaign. On May 9, Bahrain News Agency published a statement by unnamed MPs, condemning the visit paid by the other MPs to Al-Ghuraifi. The statement contained expressions vilifying and accusing Al-Ghuraifi of disloyalty. "Fraternal visits do not take place with those who do not make any moves to defend the security, safety and interest of the nation and citizens. There are many evidence on this," the statement read.

The statement was followed by another statement issued by the Bahrain Journalists Association on May 10, even though the association is supposed to be interested only in the affairs of journalists and media people. However, the association's statement opened a wide door for subsequent statements and media exaggeration, which reached an unprecedented level.

The following day, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior issued a statement accusing Sayed Al-Ghuraifi of supporting terrorism. The Islamic Al-Menbar, Islamic Al-Asala, National Unity Gathering and National Guard issued similar statements, not to mention articles by writers who do not need a recommendation to write what the royal court wants.

On the other hand, Sheikh Isa Qassim issued a statement on May 12 defending Sayed Al-Ghuraifi and stressing that "the attack against him is an attack against the people, the causes of the people, the hopes of the people and the freedom of the people. Thus, the proud people will not stand by while an attack is being launched against a prominent, honorable, ardent figure. It is an attack on the people themselves and on a man who must not be abandoned."

For its part, Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society also issued a statement in this regard in which it confirmed that Sayed Abdullah Al-Ghuraifi is a prominent national figure and demanded that they stop dragging Bahrainis into internal conflicts between government parties.

The final conclusion of the initiative was by the king, who suddenly chaired a Cabinet meeting upon his arrival from a foreign tour on May 16, and conveyed in his speech a message that the date for the settlement hasn't come yet.

With his speech at Al-Sakhir Palace, the king blocked any chance for Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman to reach any agreement, even a nominal non-essential one, with Sayed Al-Ghuraifi in order to calm the atmosphere. The king's speech also noted that the order to naturalize 551 citizens was not the result of political efforts as some had expected, but rather an attempt to appease the United Nations and prominent human rights organizations, who sharply criticized Bahrain after the citizenships of 138 Bahrainis were revoked in a farcical trial.

Meanwhile, the king participated in the attack on Al-Ghuraifi without naming him when he stressed to adhere to the national principles and "to reject the exploitation of religious platforms for extremism and sympathy for terrorist acts and spreading division and strife among members of the same society and not expressing positions that should be made against threats or interference in internal affairs and against statements harming Bahrain's security and stability."

However, most importantly, the King implied that Al-Ghuraifi's efforts pose a security threat, when he claimed that "any attempt to provoke sedition, split the ranks or depart from the national constants will be firmly confronted, and that the Kingdom is ready and has all the capacity to deal with what threatens its security, stability and all its capabilities."

Arabic Version