Gulf | Bahrain
Supermarket lifts ban on Danish firm
A leading supermarket in Bahrain said it was lifting its boycott of Danish retailer Arla Foods on Wednesday, in line with recommendations from the International Committee for the Support of the Prophet.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:00 April 6, 2006
Manama: A leading supermarket in Bahrain said it was lifting its boycott of Danish retailer Arla Foods on Wednesday, in line with recommendations from the International Committee for the Support of the Prophet.
"The decision was taken in recognition of the clear condemnation by Arla Foods of the despicable cartoons published by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten," Abdul Monaan Al Meer, chairman of Al Meer Company which owns Al Muntazah Supermarket, told Gulf News.
But the move is not expected to break the embargo on other Danish companies supplying the supermarket.
"We will maintain our boycott of the other companies until they express their condemnation of the cartoons that have denigrated Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] and Muslims," he said.
Last month, the International Committee for the Support of the Prophet advised at the end of a two-day meeting in Manama withdrawing Arla Foods from the boycott after it placed advertisements in major Arab newspapers condemning the cartoons, rejecting any excuse in this regard and highlighting its long-standing relations with the Middle East.
Although tensions over the cartoon row have cooled in Bahrain, sales of Arla, the largest Danish packaged foods supplier in the Middle East, dramatically dropped in the kingdom as a result of the boycott, prompting the company to explain its stance to the public.
The public apology was appreciated by Bahrainis who said that it was needed to foster better understanding between Denmark and people in the Middle East.
"Denmark has always had a favourable image in Bahrain as the country of tolerance and understanding, and we hope that the impact of the cartoons will be contained and gradually reversed," political columnist Ahmad Juma yesterday told Gulf News. "Initiatives have to come from both sides in order to look at the whole issue realistically and sensibly," he said.
On Monday, Denmark said that it would boost its spending on Middle East relations by up to 20 per cent this year to try to repair damage caused by the cartoon row.
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