Manama: The national commission set up by King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa to oversee the implementation of the recommendations suggested by a high-profile report into the incidents that hit Bahrain in February and March and their consequences will resort to local and international expertise in some cases, one of its members has said.
"We in the commission may not be able to do everything on our own," Jamal Fakhro, the first deputy chairman of the upper house, said.
"We may have to use local and international expertise, particularly with legal issues that must conform with international conventions and agreements. We are not experts in international conventions, so we may have to use assistance from experts who will advise us on what should be amended. We will go ahead with their proposals if we, as a commission, are convinced," he said, quoted by Al Ayam daily.
The National Commission, established this week, is made up of 19 members and is chaired by Ali Saleh Al Saleh, the chairman of the Shura Council, the upper house.
Although it includes opposition figures, none of them is from Al Wefaq, the largest opposition society, after it turned down invitations to two of its members to join, arguing that they had been called in their individual capacity.
Invitations
"Invitations had been made to Sayyed Jameel Kadhem, the chairman of Al Wefaq Shura bureau, and to Dr. Abdali Mohammad Hassan, a former lawmaker for Al Wefaq," Fakhro sad. "However, they turned down the invitations. I believe that whoever wants to reach genuine solutions for the current situation should become involved in finding them and should seize the opportunities," he said.
Al Wefaq said that the composition of the commission would not empower it to carry out its tasks competently.
In its report released on November 23, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) recommended setting up a national commission that would oversee the implementation of the recommendations to various ministries and agencies to address their shortcomings during the incidents.
Reform
"Our task is to check the implementation of the recommendations. All parties should work on implementing the recommendations as required by HM King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa. Some ministries have already started the process to reform themselves," Fakhro said.
The interior ministry this week announced a wide range of structural changes and the launch of programmes, in cooperation with international parties, mainly from the US and Britain, to enhance the skills and competence of its personnel and bring them with international standards and best practices.
