RIGHTS activists were outraged yesterday after a Bahraini MP allegedly urged the government to use live ammunition against rioters.
MP Jassim Al Saeedi made the comments to an Arabic newspaper, which quoted him demanding the death penalty for violent protesters.
However, both the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) and Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) said they were appalled by the suggestion.
"All I have to say is that thank God he is not in a position where he can order the country's police to use such force against citizens," said BHRS secretary general Dr Abdulla Al Derazi.
"It's strange that an MP, who has an important role in creating Bahrain's legislature, is for the use of violence.
"He should defend the dignity, integrity and humanity of people instead of calling for such an act.
"Human rights activists in Bahrain are calling for the reduction in using force against demonstrators and he is proudly demanding law enforcers to use live ammunition to stop demonstrators.
"This is not acceptable and we completely reject his statements."
Meanwhile, the BYSHR said Mr Al Saeedi's comments went against a campaign it is currently running against the police use of pellet guns in Bahrain, called Against the Use of Shotguns in Bahrain.
"We are in the midst of running an international campaign and there is an MP in Bahrain who is supporting the use of such weapons" he said.
"I am shocked that an MP said this because he should be defending the rights of victims instead of calling for excess force to be used.
"He has power in formulating legislature so instead of calling parliament to investigate the matter, he is demanding police to use live ammunition.
"The Interior Ministry has repeatedly claimed the aim of using pellet guns is to restore order after rioters become violent.
"But using violence to fight violence is not the answer."
Mr Al Maskati said his society had completed the first phase of its campaign, which has been launched in five languages.
It has also sent a petition, signed by 50 international organisations, to the UN Commission for Human Rights in the hope of pressuring the Bahraini government to stop using pellet guns.
"We launched an international campaign three months ago," he said.
"We published pictures, cases and incidents of the usage of the pellet gun against demonstrators, which was the first phase.
"The second phase is currently being carried out, where we sent the petition to the UN because the usage of the pellet gun is illegal in most parts of the world.
"Any weapon in which the shooter doesn't know its target specifically is against the law because when police use it, it's not just rioters who are affected, but also bystanders.
"By sending this petition to the UN we are asking them to use their various methods to pressurise Bahrain to launch a full investigation into the usage of the weapon."
He also revealed the society would begin the third phase of its campaign soon, consisting of a screening of a documentary on the subject.
Mr Al Saeedi was unavailable for comment yesterday, but in his comments to the Arabic newspaper he said pellet guns were a much more humane weapon than those used in other countries.
"Using pellet guns against rioters is in the interest of the nation and its citizens because they are used only in extreme cases, where police are forced to bring the streets back to order," he said.
"The use of force by Bahraini police is minimal in comparison to other neighbouring countries, which resort to using live ammunition and the death penalty instead of pellet guns.
"I have repeatedly asked the Interior Ministry to use excessive force against people who jeopardise the security of the country by using live ammunition."
He also spoke out against a demonstration in Bilad Al Qadeem over the weekend, which was organised to protest against the use of pellet guns.
"Those who protest against the usage of this weapon should also be against Molotov cocktails, which are plenty in our streets," he said.
"They are perfectly aware what neighbouring countries use against rioters, such as the death penalty.
"So instead of protesting against this issue, they should count themselves lucky that Bahrain's police are capable of restraining themselves."
