Bahrain parliament divided over supporting Saudis against Houthis

Manama: Bahrain’s lower house appeared divided once again along sectarian lines after Sunnis endorsed and Shiites rejected a communiqué on the latest developments on the Saudi-Yemeni borders.

Sunni MPs suggested issuing the communiqué during the weekly session on Tuesday, saying that they wanted to show solidarity with the Saudis as they defended their territories.

However, Al Wefaq, the largest parliamentary bloc, said that the communiqué would be an interference in the domestic affairs of other countries and as such it did not want to be part of it.

Some of Al Wefaq MPs said that the lower house had not issued communiqués on other conflicts in other areas and should not change its policy. However, despite Al Wefaq’s reluctance, the lower house voted to issue the communiqué.

The Shura Council, the upper house of the bicameral parliament, on Monday issued a strongly-worded communiqué praising the Saudis and expressing solidarity with them.

King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa also on Monday sent a letter to King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, congratulating the Saudi monarch on the prowess of his armed forces.

“We followed up recent developments on the Saudi-Yemeni borders and thanked God on hearing the good news that you have successfully deterred the aggressors and cleansed your territory from their filth,” King Hamad said. “Any assault on Saudi Arabia’s security is an assault on Bahrain for we are one country and one people. We have full confidence in the capabilities of Saudi Arabia and its valiant armed forces in resisting any attempt on its security,” King Hamad said.