No Middle Ground: Bahrain’s King Stresses Nation Stands Above All, Condemns Betrayal
There is no place among us for those who ally themselves with our enemies
By Habib Toumi
MANAMA: King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said that “the Iranian treacherous aggression against Bahrain that targeted its security, stability, and the safety of its people has stripped away illusion and exposed those who traded conscience for allegiance to the enemy.”
The nation stands above all else and Bahrain is a sacred trust borne collectively by all its citizens.
In moments when nations are besieged by mounting challenges and the character of men is truly tested, truth emerges in its purest and most unambiguous form. tested, truth emerges without ambiguity, King Hamad told the media.
The ordeal through which the nation has passed has revealed faces and shattered masks, laying bare where loyalties reside at a time when Bahrain faced a grave and unjustified act of Iranian aggression, he added.
While Bahrain’s valiant armed forces stood ready, steadfast on the frontlines, vigilant in defense of the state, a small faction chose betrayal, extending cooperation to those who violated the nation’s sovereignty. It is a betrayal beyond measure and a crime unforgivable in the conscience of nations and the moral judgment of peoples.
His Majesty stressed that Iran must cease all interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain and the Gulf states. His profound indignation, he made clear, mirrors the anger of an entire people. How could it be otherwise, he asked, when those entrusted with the nation’s welfare and interests turn against it, and when elected representatives abandon their mandate to stand beside those repudiated by public conscience and condemned for their heinous betrayal?
Public opinion today stands united, one rank and one voice, he said, calling for the unequivocal removal of all who collaborated with the heinous aggression. Those who betray their homeland forfeit the honor of belonging to it and the dignity of living upon its soil. Citizenship is not a document to be granted, but rather a solemn covenant to be upheld—and whoever breaks it relinquishes their right to it by their own hand.
Turning to the legislative institution, His Majesty expressed regret that some lawmakers aligned themselves with traitors rather than serving as a shield for the nation and a voice for truth. He reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to unity and to the integrity of the parliament: those who choose to stand with the nation’s enemies have no place within it – let them go where their loyalties lie. “There is no place among us for those who ally themselves with our enemies.”
He further noted that the peoples of the Gulf Cooperation Council, bound by shared destiny and common cause, support the measures taken against those convicted of betrayal, including imprisonment and the revocation of citizenship, with many urging firmer actions. These deterrent measures, he stressed, are not acts of vengeance but of protection – safeguards for the overwhelming majority of loyal citizens, and a necessary bulwark that prevents the valiant armed forces from having to assume control under extraordinary military measures in defense of the nation – their sacred duty to defend the homeland to which they swore an oath to God and country.
Those implicated, His Majesty said, face a stark choice: to offer a clear and public apology to the loyal people of Bahrain – one that may begin to restore trust – or to join those with whom they have aligned, including individuals who left or were lawfully expelled for grave acts of betrayal. Parliamentary service is a trust, and representation an honor; neither belongs to those whose hands are stained with treason.
They have no place among our honorable people, nor any honor in representing them from this day forward. Peace will not prevail, matters will not stabilize, and normal life will not resume until the ranks are cleansed of every traitor and collaborator.
The homeland, His Majesty added, is in urgent need of voices that are both free and responsible. Freedom does not mean a license for chaos, nor offers a pretext for the erosion of fundamental national principles; it can never be invoked to justify betrayal. The homeland remains above all, and Bahrain is a trust in every citizen’s keeping, its soil not to be yielded, not even by a grain.
His Majesty called upon all to understand and embody the true meaning of loyalty to the homeland: that a citizen carries the nation in the heart before proclaiming it with the tongue, and stands ready to defend it with life and sacrifice. Loyalty is a sacred responsibility and a solemn duty.
He concluded with a prayer that God safeguard the Kingdom of Bahrain and its steadfast people, and sustain for them the enduring blessings of security and stability.
