CAIRO: Bahrain's foreign minister said Tuesday that the tiny Gulf kingdom would focus on restoring security and pushing ahead with political consultations after Gulf troops quashed one month of protests. “The situation has now evolved towards calm and we will continue on this path,” Sheikh Khaled Bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa told a news conference after talks with Arab League chief Amr Moussa in Cairo. “There is no doubt that continued political consultations are the way forward,” he added. He said the kingdom would concentrate on “restoring security, stability and unity between citizens after much polarisation in recent days”. Last month, Bahrain's Crown Prince Sheikh Salman offered to start an open dialogue over issues that instigated a month-long protest in central Manama. But the opposition says it refuses to be coerced into talks, demanding a “correct” environment for negotiations aimed at solving political issues. Protests were crushed by security forces last week after the royal family called in Gulf troops, mostly from Saudi Arabia, when the demonstrations escalated into clashes that paralysed the capital. Bahrain's foreign minister said the troops were called in to “protect key installations against any external threat to the kingdom.” Moussa said the position of Arab countries was “very clearly to maintain stability in Bahrain and preserve its Arab identity.” The office of the human UN rights chief said Tuesday it appeared to have been targeted by an orchestrated e-mail campaign after it condemned a takeover of Bahrain hospitals by security forces. “Since last Thurday, we've been inundated with e-mails telling us we got it back to front and that the protestors are the ones completely at fault,” said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Many of these e-mails are very similar in content, suggesting an orchestrated campaign. That said, some or even many of these e-mails may be genuine,” he added. The UN High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, had issued a statement Thursday condemning a takeover of Bahrain hospitals and medical facilities by military forces as “a blatant violation of international law.”
