Saudi Arabia: No Major Withdrawal Plan Under Way

A Saudi military official told Associated Press news agency on Tuesday that the kingdom plans to pull some units out of the 1,500-strong GCC force sent to help quell the anti-discriminate uprising for greater rights.

The official refused to give any further details on the movements of the GCC force, which is mainly made up of Saudi and Emirati troops while Kuwait only committed its naval forces.

Also Nabil al-Hammar, an adviser to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, told AP that there were no plans for a full withdrawal of the Gulf reinforcements.

He said some of the Saudi-led force that came to the aid of Bahrain’s rulers in March will reposition units within the tiny kingdom, but no major withdrawal plans were under way.

The Saudi’s pull out plan comes amid Bahraini government efforts to open a dialogue with the Shia opposition they crushed a few months ago.

Shia bloc questions talks

However, the main Shia opposition group, Al Wefaq, has questioned the Kings’s offer of dialogue while political activists are being tortured and prosecuted on allegedly false charges.

The group has questioned how reconciliation efforts can proceed when many activists, particularly Bahraini medics have been sentenced by military trial courts.

“It’s not a good atmosphere,” said Ali Salman, the leader of Wefaq, who suggested Bahrain’s rulers are seeking dialogue to improve the country’s image as safe again for tourism and foreign investors.

The absence of Wefaq would be a blow to the credibility of the talks, which start on Saturday.

Washington has publicly backed the talks as the only option to calm tensions in one of its main Gulf military allies.

At the same time, the US is under growing pressure to take a harder line against Bahrain’s ruling dynasty.

The US had urged Bahraini King to meet some opposition demands. It also expressed concern about the severity of the sentences and the use of military-linked security courts against protesters.