GCC Wants To Cancel Arab Summit
By Ria Novosti
The Gulf Cooperation Council has demanded the cancellation of an Arab states summit in Baghdad, scheduled for mid-May, Bahrain news agency said on Wednesday.
“The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in a letter to the Arab League secretary general, asks for the cancellation of a planned Arab summit in Iraq,” Bahrain Foreign Minister, Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said.
The move came after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki denounced violent measures used to suppress peaceful protesters by the “tyrant” authorities in Libya, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
“The tyrants are cowards even if they have weapons as they fear from any fair or opposing statements and stances,” Maliki said.
Iraq, Iran Shi’te groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon criticized a violent crackdown on Shi’ite protesters in Bahrain by the country’s Sunni authorities and Saudi Arabian troops.
The Arab summit was originally intended to be held in March, but was delayed due to the wave of unrest that has swept North Africa and the Middle East since mid-March, toppling presidents in Egypt and Tunisia, and sparking a civil war in Libya.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) comprises Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
