Gulf state fears impact of Iran-backed violence on investment climate
ABU DHABI — Bahrain has become increasingly concerned that rising
Shi'ite unrest could frighten Westerners drawn to the growing regional business hub.
Industry leaders warned that foreign companies, particularly from Europe
and the United States, would flee Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The
Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom has been regarded as the most attractive
venue for investments in the region.
"Such acts of violence will have a serious negative impact on the
business and investment climate in the kingdom," Essam Fakhro, chairman of
the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.
Officials and industry leaders said the Shi'ite violence, believed
supported by Iran, has made Western diplomats and executives increasingly
edgy. They said the Westerners, many of whom use Bahrain as a regional base,
were concerned that Shi'ite insurgents would soon target foreigners, Middle East Newsline reported.
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"There is no compromise on security and no tolerance or leniency towards
the perpetrators and instigators of such heinous crimes against the nation
and
the people," Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said.
The Shi'ite violence was said to have peaked on April 9 when a police
officer was killed and two others injured in a firebomb strike. Officials
said about 40 Shi'ite attackers ambushed a patrol car in a village near
Manama in what they deemed an act of terrorism. Many of Bahrain's police
officers are foreign Sunni Muslims, particularly from Pakistan.
"Unless the government takes stronger measures to stop such vandals, the
business climate in our country will also be ruined," Fawzi Kanoo, Bahraini
managing director of YBA Kanoo, said. "If such criminal acts continue,
Bahrain will find it difficult to attract foreign investors, even those from
our neighborhood."
