Government | Thursday 18 June, 2015 9:16 am |

The Shoura Council voted Tuesday to reject a proposal to launch a national unity project, stating that the government was doing enough to ensure the country’s citizens stand together to face internal and external threats.

The Shoura stated that the laws of the country and its leadership were capable of tackling attempts by certain people and groups to divide the nation based on religious beliefs and tribal affiliations, according to a report in a local publication.

The Shoura’s general secretariat had considered three proposals on national unity at its session. Its Islamic affairs committee supported the proposals, but most members rejected them.

Mohammad Reda Nassr Allah, one of the members who submitted a proposal, said he was disappointed because recent incidents in the country had shown that the country’s social fabric was under threat.

Nassr Allah warned that the country was surrounded by dangerous elements seeking to stir up sedition, and there was urgent need to take decisive action to counter these threats.

Several Shoura members have subsequently accused the opponents of the project of having no interest in ensuring unity in the country.
Member Fayez Al-Shahri said he was opposed to the project based on the current proposals because it does not amount to a law or regulations, or take into account other legislation.

He said any proposal on national unity must include legislation that criminalized any action deemed seditious. A project such as this should also attempt to tackle “individual identities and minor affiliations that may adversely affect our unity,” he said.
Al-Shahri said he was unsure whether any of the proposals would achieve the simplest requirements of a successful national unity project, which was one of the most important facets of any society.