Arson desperate act of cowardice to intimidate candidates in Bahrain

The Minister for Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Dr. Juma bin Ahmed Al Ka'abi described the devastation of the Jidhafs Municipalities Services Office as an act of cowardice, perpetrated in desperation.
The intent behind the blaze, he said, was to disrupt the ongoing parliament and municipal elections.
Addressing a press conference, along with the Minister of State for Information Affairs and the Government's Official Spokesperson Sameera Ebrahim bin Rajab, Dr. Ka'abi said that the terror act had brought to a complete halt all the daily municipal services provided to over 60,000 people – including nationals and expatriates – living in 62 blocks.
The building was set ablaze on October 15, "by a terrorist group," said the minister, adding that all services have been relocated to Buddaiya, Hamad Town, and buildings in the neighbourhood to minimise service disruption to the residents.
He noted that 70 employees would be pressed into service to help the residents of the area proceed with their municipal needs.
The blaze destroyed the building and all official infrastructure, including furniture, computers and equipment, along with papers and official documents. Overall damage is estimated at BD 6 million, with damage to the building and its infrastructure alone estimated at BD500,000, said the minister.
Detailing the loss to documents, the minister added, the official documents included the personal information of the citizens, stored in computers. About 300 requests were pending on the day of the sabotage, he said.
The centre, visited by over 100 people daily, provides in excess of 13,000 services and requests, including construction and restoration permits, electrical service requests and commercial registrations, he said.
He ruled out loss of life and the only person in the building was the watchman who suffered asphyxiation from the fumes and was rushed to hospital.
Condemning the act in the strongest terms, Dr. Juma said the perpetrators planned to destabilise the country and deter municipality employees planning to nominate themselves and the population from exercising their voting rights.
The Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, the minister affirmed, would not bow to such terror, aimed at thwarting the process of reforms and progress. Instead, it will continue to offer services to both citizens and expatriate population of the region. Dr. Juma asked the people to defeat such forces and re-apply for the services, so that the ministry can process their permits.
The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with a consultant, he said, is currently carrying out a special procedure to ascertain the losses and rehabilitate the building to its original status. The municipal service office at Jidhafs would be rehabilitated and every procedure adopted to ensure that the employees are safe, he added.
The Minister of State for Information Affairs Sameera Ebrahim Rajab strongly condemned the incident, and attributed it to the fatwa issued by the so-called Isa Qassim.
Statistics reveal that the Northern Governorate has the highest number of candidates contesting the elections, while Al-Wefaq has the second highest number of nominees compared to other political societies, she told reporters.
The fatwa and the terror acts that followed it should be viewed as an attempt to intimidate the electorate, and stop candidates from contesting and the people of the area from casting their votes, she added, stressing that the number of candidates has proved that they have failed.
"Shia candidates have come out in strength to contest and be a part of the mainstream. Bahrain can't be divided by terrorist threats. The nation stands united and its people stand joined together to promote the reform process for the benefit of the country," said the Government's Official Spokesperson.
The perpetration of such acts is not exclusive to Bahrain and "we are one with the global community that faces the brunt of such inhuman trauma," she added.
She stressed that whoever seeks democracy should believe in its basic rules –the freedom of the citizens to exercise their right to elect their representatives.
"Whoever condemns these terror acts should issue another fatwa prohibiting terrorism and the targeting of the citizens' lives, property and institutions."