Bahrain not seeking to dissolve Shiite opposition

Bahrain does not seek to dissolve the main Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq, and wants it as a “partner for the future,” Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa said in Dubai on Monday.

Last week, Bahrain’s state news agency said the kingdom, ruled by a Sunni dynasty that has recently crushed Shiite-led protests, had filed suit to disband two Shiite opposition groups, including Al-Wefaq.

But Sheikh Khaled said “we’re not there to dissolve Al-Wefaq (the Islamic National Accord Association). Wefaq committed some violations; there is a court case. But there is no witch hunt.”

“We’re not dissolving Al-Wefaq; we’re not asking for it to be dissolved,” nor “any other (political) society.