Manama, Sept. 30. (BNA): The Kingdom of Bahrain is in league with the forces of nations — both regionally and internationally — in fighting to stamp out the menace of terrorism, said the Minister of State for Information Affairs and the Official Government Spokesperson Sameera Ebrahim bin Rajab.
Speaking during a regular press conference, she said the kingdom was of the opinion that a war against terrorism of all shades had to have regional and international efforts.
Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, put the number of Bahrainis fighting with the terror group, Daesh, at 100.
Asked by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) on the strategy being adopted by the Government of Bahrain to wean away its youth from the clutches of such organisations, the Minister said “The Bahraini youth who joined Daesh, Hezbollah and similar terror organisations had been lured on religious grounds.”
“We are aware that plans aimed at destabilising the harmony and peace of the nation are being doled out under the cover of religion. The government has to chalk out a strategy and ensure speedy implementation of the same to keep the youth away from perpetrators of such deeds,” she added.
Ensuring awareness and imparting knowledge that will bring out the truth about both the nation and religion must form part of the strategy to keep the youth of the nation engaged constructively, the minister said.
She also said that the Foreign Minister had spoken out against the recent film by Daesh terrorists.
In another context, the Government’s Official Spokesperson described the forthcoming parliamentary and municipal elections as a “national event”.
She stressed that the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) would continue playing its key role during the electoral process.
It will facilitate accessibility to information and news through various official media entities, raise awareness about the importance of democracy and elections, highlight the rights of voters and candidates and provide the highest levels of transparency on the elections for both the local and international communities, she told reporters.
“From time to time, false information, rumours and false news, whether via social networks or via some media abroad are published,” she said, adding that such fallacious stories aim to anger certain segments of the society and harm national interests.
“Therefore,” she said, “we would like to emphasise that the Reform Project of His Majesty the King is progressing steadily, and the coming legislative and municipal elections are evidence of the level of civilisation and openness of Kingdom of Bahrain and its real involvement in a flawless democratic process.”
“I would like to invite you all today to play your roles as journalists and media personnel in raising the awareness in the society on the importance of enhancing the electoral process by providing the society with accurate information and being committed to the ethics of media coverage throughout this important occasion,” she told journalists.
“The success of the elections will be a boost for the political reform process initiated by His Majesty the King, and augur in a new phase which will be the culmination do the National Dialogue, she explained.
“We should unite in our love towards our country,” she said.
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BNA 1544 GMT 2014/09/30