Bahraini activist urges greater representation

Dubai: Rights will not be granted in Arab countries and can only be taken as a result of a civil movement, said prominent Bahraini rights advocate Abdul Nabi Al Ekri, on the sidelines of a reform forum in Dubai.

"An idea has been implanted that the [Arab citizen] is a subject, not a citizen. That is why, if [rights are granted], they are treated as gratis or gifts," said Al Ekri, President of the Bahrain Transparency Society.

He was speaking to Gulf News during the Forum for the Future conference that is aimed at promoting reform and development.

"The governments say that you have to be patient, as it took the West 400 or 500 years [to have representative societies], but like everything in life nowadays, the [pace] of change is much faster...It is in the long-term interest of these states to have legitimate, stable and representative bodies," he said.

Asked if the Gulf governments' reluctance to allow civil society to function freely could be attributed to concern about it being dominated by the expatriate majorities in most of the countries, Al Ekri said while demographics could be a factor, it was important to remember that Gulf governments were not keen on promoting civil society even before the influx of foreigners.

Al Ekri felt Gulf countries had a long way to go in establishing functional civil societies, particularly with the existence of laws banning unauthorised assemblies in some countries. Civil society's activities, he said, are tolerated as long as they are not a factor for change.

He also highlighted the need for consensus among different factions of civil society, be they secular, Islamist, or liberal. "All of them are being margin-alised. They all have to get together."