The Shura Council yesterday referred to the environment and public facilities committee a draft law on reclamation of land, pollution and public inaccessibility of shores.
Members agreed that the Ministry of Works and Housing, municipal councils and the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Life, Environment and Wildlife should be involved in the evaluation of the draft law.
"Shores and beaches should not be owned by anyone as they are public properties. The draft law aims to do away with the concept of private beaches and ownership of lands near the shores," member Fuad Al Halwachi, said.
"The Tubli bay area had been about 52km in the seventies and now it has reduced to 31km because of a lack of legislation to protect the shores," he said. "The draft law aims to protect the marine life and the natural resources."
On a question by member Dr Fawziya Al Saleh about the differences between shores and beaches, the Director of Marine Life Resources at the commission, Jassim Al Qaseer, said: "The beach is the end of the dry sand near the sea, while the shore is the land that is covered by the sea rise."
Dr Al Saleh highlighted the need to include the views of environmentalists about the law in the report, while the Minister of the Chamber of Deputies and the Shura Council Affairs, Abdulaziz Al Fadhel, stressed the inclusion of the letters presented by the authorities concerned on the law.
Member Jameel Matrook said the council should reject the law as an article in the civil law protects the sea entry points.
Member Abduljalil Al Tareef said the council should approve the law because the Kingdom is an archipelago, while member Abdulrahman Al Ghatam stressed that the council should not forget the circumstances of people who had legally bought and registered their lands near or in the sea.
Al Fadhel said there was no clear maps of the shores because of reclamation of land for housing projects and the construction of commercial islands in the sea.
The council chairman, Dr Faisal Radhi Al Mousawi, wished Bahraini workers a happy Labour Day and asked them to further contribute to the Kingdom's development.
He praised the speech of His Majesty the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on the occasion and his directives for better services for workers.
"The Kingdom's celebration is in line with the labour reform programmes that will ensure high Bahrainisation and better work performance," Dr Al Mousawi said, adding that the reforms would enhance economic development and social stability. He also wished a happy 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Dilmun civilisation.
The council reviewed letters sent by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani, on the draft law to join the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, the draft law to ratify an agreement for legal assistance between Bahrain and India and the chamber's approval of the council's changes in the draft law to join the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea.
The council postponed discussion on a question by member Faisal Foulad on the Kingdom's anti-discrimination report to the United Nation because the Minister of Information and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Dr Mohammed Abdulghaffar is out of Bahrain.
The council also postponed discussion on the educational, rehabilitation and welfare services for special-need students at public schools because member Jalal Ahmed Mansoor Al Aali was absent.
The council approved a draft law to amend certain provisions of the evidence law promulgated by law by decree No. 14 of 1996. The amendments will enable wives who have verbal business agreements with their husbands to take recourse to court to solve commercial disputes.
The council also approved a draft law to join an agreement on the protection of new types of plants as specified in the Royal decree No. 45 of 2004. Presented by the public services and environmental committee, the agreement aims to enhance agricultural services in the Kingdom.
The council discussed a draft law to join anti-punishment agreement on internationally protected individuals, including diplomats.
"The agreement is part of other treaties that countries have been keen to join after 9/11 as part of the global effort to fight terrorism," member Mansoor Bin Rajab said, adding that most Arab and Islamic countries had joined the agreement because they had suffered the most from the impact of international terrorism.
"The Kingdom opposes all forms of terrorism and supports peaceful coexistence between nations," Bin Rajab said. "By joining the agreement Bahrain will affirm its keenness on protecting human rights and respecting the international laws."
Bahrain Tribune 2005
