Bahrain Mirror: The deputy secretary-general of Al-Wefaq Society, Sheikh Hussein Al-Daihi, said that the decision to impose the value added tax (VAT) is considered a "heinous crime". He said in a series of tweets, after a decree was approved on Sunday (October 7, 2018) by the Parliament, which is controlled by independent pro-government MPs, that "what is taking place with regards to the regime and its followers agreement to impose the VAT is considered a heinous crime against the livelihood of people. It is a reflection of the reality of tyranny and corruption," in the country he said.

Al-Daihi added that "some clowns and media people are trying to justify the imposing of taxes on the people of Bahrain, as if they live on another planet," stressing that "citizens are the sources of authorities in all countries that impose taxes, or in other cases the state is wealthy and it compensates it citizens in salaries and incomes, unlike Bahrain, which has fell into debts and financial deficits to the extent of drowning."

"If we assume that the Bahraini people amount to 700,000 and 699,999 of them rejected taxes, naturalization and corruption, they won't be able to stop the regime, because regimes of tyranny are governed by a few whose interests are staying in power. Their pockets are the priority and accounts are more important than the whole nation," Al-Daihi tweeted.

He noted that "the existence of opposition is a must and major factor in fighting tyranny, because keeping silent towards corruption and identifying with authoritarian institutions creates  a cover up for all of the thefts, marginalization and impoverishment."

"Those following the behavior and projects of the authorities over the past years see that they target citizens. There is no increase in salaries. They have lifted subsidies on meat, electricity and gasoline, and imposed hundreds of fees. We today face the value added tax that is expected to increase continuously, and the list goes on," he said.

Al-Wefaq Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Hussein Al-Daihi went on to say that "our people must not accept this depletion and express their rejection regarding the systematic and deliberate policy of starvation that the authorities want in order to compel our people to accept by threats and menace."

Arabic Version