Bahrainis don't need outside interference

An uneasy calm covers Bahrain after months of protests. The country urgently needs to move on from its present position in which the government has re-established control of the streets, but political life has come to a nervous halt.

Bahrain must start a national dialogue in which the government and responsible opposition can find a mutually agreed way forward so that the country can heal wounds, strengthen fractured cohesion and make a new political start so that it can face the future more confidently.

None of this can come from outside Bahrain, so members of all parties in Bahrain have a responsibility to rebuild the political momentum. For example it is useful that the moderate opposition party Al Wefaq has indicated that it will accept the dialogue initiative led by Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa without preconditions.

This readiness may not be required immediately, but it will be very useful when political momentum returns. In addition, the country needs to return to more normal conditions: for example the defence forces should be able to leave Bahrain's largest hospital, which they have controlled since March 16 in the interests of security.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are Bahrain's GCC allies, and they are supporting the government to maintain order, but they cannot achieve the necessary political settlement which must come from the Bahrainis themselves. The Kuwaitis have offered to mediate, but as Bahrain's foreign minister said last week, "Any talk of Kuwaiti mediation in Bahrain is not correct at all … that ended prior to the state of emergency."

Iran has been wrong to express any interest in the outcome of what is going on in Bahrain. The solution to the political differences between Bahrainis will not be found in Tehran, and it is important that Iran is not part of any search for a solution.