Bahrain Mirror: Al-Wefaq expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to all the grieving people of Bahrain for the great loss and painful tragedy of losing dozens of the men and women of this dear country due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al-Wefaq expressed in a statement on Wednesday (June 2, 2021) "great pain and sorrow for these victims who are gone and whose departure left a deep wound in the hearts of all. This number of victims in a very short period of time is unprecedented in the history of Bahrain, as more than 500 casualties have been recorded in one and a half month only. The number of COVID-19 deaths exceeded a thousand, half of them died during the last month and a half. Al-Wefaq calls for declaring public mourning in Bahrain until these horrific and terrifying numbers decrease."

The society praised the "White Army" and all the medical and service cadres who work day and night with sacrifice, dedication, diligence and persistence. Al-Wefaq addressed them: "We extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation for this great jihad that you are doing to protect and treat your families and your countrymen, and we emphasize that you are today the true model of giving, unity and sincere patriotism."

It also called for the employment of all volunteers from the various medical cadres who are the pride of the country. This file must be viewed in a patriotic spirit, and anyone who enjoys humanity and love for Bahrain cannot neglect or ignore this or practice hateful sectarian or regional discrimination in such circumstances, during which the good people of Bahrain have proven that they make us proud of their efforts and giving, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al-Wefaq commended the level of awareness and commitment shown by our people and called for necessarily increasing the level of compliance with precautions and medical instructions, and categorically stopping all practices, meetings and gatherings. It also called for not neglecting or compromising the health situation, knowing that any non-compliance is a crime against ourselves, our families, and our country.

The society affirmed its full support for the call launched by the opposition leader, His Eminence Sheikh Ali Salman, Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq Society, from prison, for community solidarity, in light of the loss of many Bahraini families' breadwinners due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for embracing and caring for those families by the society.

Al-Wefaq called for stopping all the sources of the epidemic, having the courage to take bold decisions of a national nature, and stopping all forms of exploitation or slackness regarding the difficult and sensitive health conditions.

It stressed that its position stems from great concern and understanding of all circumstances. In addition, the authorities should not continue in this approach, and both the official authorities and the people share the responsibility. Al-Wefaq also stressed that the official authorities bear the largest and most important responsibility for providing the necessary conditions, stopping all flights from all affected countries, closing the borders temporarily, changing the transit policy, no longer considering Bahrain a quarantine for those traveling to neighboring countries, and necessarily closing a number of the sectors contributing to this dangerous slip.

Al-Wefaq called for the formation of a professional investigation team to find out the reasons for this explosion in the health situation, even if this requires the involvement of concerned parties such as the World Health Organization or any other party. In fact, the official stance is not appropriate or suitable to the size of the loss of lives. Moreover, the official procedures do not live up to the size of the health disaster, and part of that is because economic interests were put first.

Al-Wefaq, once again, called, from a humanitarian standpoint, for the urgent release of prisoners of conscience who are threatened with death due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficult conditions in the country. This requires a brave patriotic stance to stop the series of blackmail and exploitation of a file that is too big to be subject to the moodiness, grudge and hatred, which have been destroying the national fabric for ten years. The time has come to take a humanitarian step for Bahrain that surpasses malicious considerations. In addition, we stress the need to provide the necessary treatment for the national symbol, Mr. Hassan Mushaima, and to release him immediately, given his health status, age and honorable national history.

The opposition society considered Bahrain's vote on the decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council to form a commission of inquiry to look into the violations of the Zionist entity in the Gaza Strip as a step in the right direction and a stance that expresses the popular will. Al-Wefaq called on the authorities to stop all forms of normalization and immediately withdraw from the shame agreement signed unilaterally and illegally by the authorities with the Zionists.

Al-Wefaq commended the young Bahraini citizen, Mohammed Salem, who was able to save a Bahraini family from a fire in their house in Hamad Town, stressing that this sacrificial spirit reflects the nobility of the Bahraini citizen.

Arabic Version