Bahrain to shut nightclubs, bars in hotels by March
Hotel owners in Bahrain have gone to court to oppose a government decision to shut down nightclubs and bars in all but five-star hotels, the head of the owners association said yesterday.
“We filed a lawsuit yesterday at the administrative court (which rules on disputes involving government departments) demanding the annulment of the decisions issued by the information ministry in December,” Ahmad Sanad said.
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They also stipulate revoking the licences of bars and nightclubs and licences that allow the sale of alcohol “in all hotels and touristic restaurants located in residential areas and close to schools and mosques starting in May”, Sanad said. “These decisions may be aimed at appeasing some political forces in parliament ... at the expense of Bahraini investors,” he said, adding that the move deals “a blow to investors and thousands of workers in the hotel sector.”
Sanad was referring to Sunni Islamist MPs from the National Islamic Tribune Association, the local chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Salafi Assala (Authenticity) Association which have a 13-strong bloc in the parliament elected last November and December.
The Sunni Islamists had been agitating in the previous parliament for a clampdown on alcohol and entertainment seen as violating Islamic tenets. Apart from Sunni Islamists close to the government, opposition Shi’ite Islamists made a spectacular entry into the new parliament, giving Islamists of both sects control over three-quarters of the 40-member legislature.
The Islamists’ rise sparked fears that they would force restrictions on public freedoms in Bahrain, a relatively liberal country by the standards of the conservative Gulf region.
Businessmen expressed concern that such restrictions would undermine the economy of the archipelago which relies largely on banking and other services.
“We are not against morals or religion ... (But) the damage resulting from these decisions will not affect just hotels and restaurants, but also other sectors that depend on hotels,” Sanad said. The newspaper Al Mithaq yesterday quoted assistant under-secretary for tourism at the information ministry, Fawzi Tulifat, as saying the decision to close the entertainment spots in all except five-star hotels was irrevocable. “These decisions are meant to benefit, not harm, the hotel industry,” he said without explaining how. Tulifat said more than 2,500 Bahrainis work in the hotel sector.
Slowly we see who wields influence in the Middle East, it certainly is not the United States but the so called "radical" moslems...
If you still don't know how the winds are blowing on the 'moslem' street, wet your finger and stick it into the air, you may finally get a clue...
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1) Bahrain to shut nightclubs, bars in hotels by March
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
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