Bahrain Denies Tunisians Entry for ’Supporting Hizbullah’

Local Editor

Bahraini authorities refused to allow two members of Tunisia's trade union federation, a joint winner of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, to enter the tiny Gulf kingdom in a row over Hizbullah.

The Tunisian General Labor Union [UGTT] announced on Sunday that the pair, identified as Noureddine Taboubi and Abdelkrim Jrad, planned to participate in a congress of Bahraini trade unions but were denied entry.

Relatively, spokesman for the UGTT, Sami Tahri, said the two were banned "because of the union's rejection of Hizbullah's classification as a terrorist organization."

The ban was "undemocratic" and "contrary to international law," Tahri noted, adding that "There are always countries which are against any free and independent positions."

On March 3, a UGTT statement described Hizbullah as a "symbol of the [Lebanese] national struggle" against the occupational policies of the "Israeli" regime.

The statement came a day after the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] issued a statement labeling the party a terrorist organization.

The Arab bloc included Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The union further considered the Saudi-led move by the GCC against Hizbullah as part of "an offensive by foreign and other regional forces to divide the Arab world and destroy its forces."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team