Bahrain: Islamic MP calls for expulsion of Bangladeshis



Manama, 26 May (AKI) - An Islamic parliamentarian in Bahrain has called for the expulsion of Bangladeshi immigrant workers after one of them was accused of a gruesome killing.

"We need to expel all the Bangladeshi workers that are in our country," said Abdel Halim Murad of the hardline Salafi bloc according to a report in the local newspaper Akhbar al-Khalji.

"We cannot tolerate the way in which these people continue to repeat crimes," he said.

Murad said this during a political debate on Sunday after a Bahraini citizen was allegedly killed by a foreign worker from Bangladesh who worked as a mechanic.

The victim was said to have fought with his killer because they could not decide on the price to pay to repair a car.

"The society in Bahrain has been hit by this barbaric incident and now we have to rise above every limit. It is necessary to have zero tolerance with regards to them," said Murad.

Murad also said that an example should be made of the punishment handed out to the Bangladeshi who has been accused of murder.

"He should be immediately sentenced to death and the punishment should be carried out in a short time in order to make an example to everyone," he added

"It is also necessary to have a plan which will foresee the gradual expulsion of all these people from our country," he said.

There are an estimated 106,000 Bangladeshis living in the small Arab country.

Bangladeshi diplomats in Bahrain have asked the government in Bahrain not to blame the entire community for the mistake of some of their citizens.

Bahrain is not the only country in the Emirates which has had to deal with problems associated with Asian immigration.

An MP in Kuwait had on 28 April called for the expulsion of all foreign workers.

"All the Bangladeshi immigrants who have committed crimes in our country have to be immediately deported," said Muhammad Hayf al-Mutairi.

This was also suggested by an Islamic politician, who has gained a lot support because of these types of proposals with regards to foreigners.

"Their presence here represents a major danger for our national security because of them, there has been a rise in the number of crimes committed and for this reason the interior ministry must immediately expel them from the country," said al-Mutairi in an interview on the Arabic satellite television network, Al-Arabiya.

According to al-Mutairi, the Bangladeshis have organised themselves into gangs, making them responsible for a large number of crimes committed in the country such as rapes, theft and the falsification of documents.

There are about 200,000 foreign workers in Kuwait and their presence in the country is often a source of protest from the rest of the local population.

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