MANAMA: Bahrain said Thursday it would seek court approval to dissolve the main Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq, its strongest action yet against a mainstream group with the most opposition seats in Parliament.

“The Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministry announced it is raising legal action to dissolve the Islamic Action party and Al-Wefaq group,” a statement on the Bahrain News Agency said.

“This is because of major violations of the Constitution and laws of the kingdom, undertaking activities that harmed social peace, national unity, and inciting disrespect for constitutional institutions.”

Last month Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim rulers crushed weeks of protests led mainly by Shiites, spreading security forces throughout the capital and calling in troops from Sunni-led Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The uprising unnerved Sunni-ruled Gulf states that feared the democracy movement could spread further if it was successful in Bahrain. Gulf rulers accused non-Arab Shiite power Iran of interfering in Bahrain, where Shiites form the majority.
King Hamad bin Isa was in Riyadh Wednesday night for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Sultan that discussed improving ties between the two countries, BNA said.

Saudi Arabia, linked to the island state by a causeway, is seen as a financial lifeline for Bahrain. The king was at Riyadh airport to welcome back King Abdullah after his treatment abroad for illness in February, when analysts say Gulf pressure on Manama to end the protest movement was strong.

The government has launched a security crackdown in recent weeks, arresting hundreds of Shiites and firing Shiite workers from state companies.

It had not previously targeted Al-Wefaq, which has called for a constitutional monarchy but did not join other groups who chose a more confrontational approach during the protests in calling for the overthrow of the ruling Khalifa family.

Al-Wefaq mobilized more than 100,000 protesters during peaceful marches when the government still allowed gatherings.

It won 18 seats in Bahrain’s 40-seat elected Parliament last year, while complaining of gerrymandered electoral districts to prevent Shiites candidates demanding democratic reform from taking a majority. It resigned its seats in Parliament in protest over the government crackdown.
Parliament has little power and the Cabinet, appointed by the king, has been headed by the same member of the ruling family for four decades.

“It’s reached a stage where they say there are no more moderates, that the entire opposition consists of extremists. This is the wrong message,” said Mattar Ibrahim Mattar, a former Al-Wefaq member of Parliament. “The hard-liners [in government] never wanted Al-Wefaq to take part in elections and get seats in Parliament,” he said.
Al-Wefaq said in a statement that it had always complied with Bahraini laws and regulations and that it was still committed to a political solution to Bahrain’s political crisis.

Al-Wefaq says that another one of its supporters, the fourth so far, has died in police custody.
The opposition bloc says Haji Karim Fakhrawi died in “mysterious circumstances.” The statement Wednesday did not say when he died. Bahrain’s official news agency said Fakhrawi died of kidney failure.

Rights activists and Fakhrawi’s relatives say marks and bruises on his body suggest he died of torture.
At least 30 people have been killed since protests began in February. Hundreds have been detained in the crackdown on the rebellion.