Bahrain to host Arab forum on Iranian interference

Manama, July 30 (BNA): Bahrain will host next month a key forum on Iranian threats to pan-Arab human security. The first edition of the Arab Forum will open in Manama on August 6 under the auspices of Council of Representatives Speaker Ahmed bin Ibrahim Al-Mulla. The Arab Federation for Human Rights will organize the symposium under the theme "No Rights Without Security". Arab MPs, Shura Council members, representatives of Arab watchdogs, UN human rights and development agencies will converge on Manama to take part in the symposium. The regional office of the UN Human Rights Commission, the Arab and international watchdogs, think tanks, leading academic figures and researchers in the field of human rights will also be present. The symposium will contribute to ending sectarian-tainted conflicts; disseminating tolerance, national reconciliation and acceptance of others in the Arab World. The organizers said that the forum aspires to cement the Arab identity on the basis of common cultural and intellectual bases that stem from deep-rooted Arab history and millennia-old civilization. They warned in statement against the dangers of blatant Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries, which jeopardizes the Arab human security and threatens the stability and sovereignty of Arab countries. They highlighted Iranian expansionist policies, stressing the attempts of Tehran regime to spread its tentacles and, impose its hegemony on the Middle East and fuel sectarian conflicts in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. They said that Iran is adamant on destabilizing Arab countries and subverting their security, preying particularly on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. The statement laid bare Iranian policy of habouring terrorist and extremist organizations, which threatens the Arab national and human security. "The Iranian regime succeeded in exploiting the instability which reigned in the region over the past years to expand in the Arab world", the statement said. The participants will discuss the Iranian interference and seek to draw up a collective pan-Arab national strategy. A team of experts will also be set up to follow up the implementation of the proposed strategy which will hopefully lay the foundations for an Arab action to confront the Iranian interference. A partnership will be built with all Arab parties, including governmental authorities, NGOs, political parties and intellectual entities.