Bahrain to ban work permits for unskilled Bangladeshis

Manama: A possible ban on issuing or renewing work permits for Bangladeshis in Bahrain will not cover “the skilled and well-educated'', sources told Gulf News on Sunday.

“The ban will be limited to those who are unskilled or do not hold higher education degrees,'' the sources said a week after Bahrain's interior minister said a ban would be imposed on the recruitment of Bangladeshis.

“A committee that includes senior security officials will be set up by the interior minister in order to analyse and assess the behaviour and attitudes of all communities living in Bahrain and ensure that they do not clash with the social and cultural values of Bahrainis,'' the sources said.

“The criminal patterns by expatriate communities have been under close scrutiny for the last five years, but the latest crime has been a catalyst in openly discussing the phenomenon of violence and crimes perpetrated by foreigners living in Bahrain.''

The ban on Bangladeshis was proposed last week following the murder of a Bahraini national with a grinding tool, allegedly in a heated argument with a Bangladeshi mechanic.

Islamist MPs and columnists quickly condemned the murder and pressure mounted on the government for the deportation of all Bangladeshis.

However, the call was rejected by human rights groups and left-wing political groups, who condemned it as “a discriminatory measure that punishes a whole nation for a crime by one person''.

The ban has caused further controversy and confusion after a minister said no official decision had been made on the issue.

“We cannot talk about an official decision yet. We do not really want to take the issue out of context or give it extraordinary dimensions,'' Nizar Al Baharna, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, said.

“There are angry reactions from some MPs toward the crime, and this is natural. But we have to wait until things calm down. We need to address the issue in a way that both satisfies the people of Bahrain, but also preserves the reputation of the country,'' he said in a statement to the press.