Bahrain upset with foreign meddling

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MANAMA, Bahrain, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The application of Bahrain law is internal and sovereign affairs should be left to the discretion of its leaders, the Council of Representatives speaker said.

At least 40 people died last year during anti-government protests in Bahrain. The government has since committed to a series of reforms outlined by an independent commission of inquiry.

Last week, however, human rights groups expressed concern after authorities in Bahrain revoked the citizenship of 31 people considered a threat to national security. At least one of the people stripped of citizenship belonged to the opposition al-Wefaq party, which the government blamed for some of the unrest in the country.

Khalifa al-Dhahrani, speaker of Bahrain's Council of Representatives, rejected any interference in the country's national affairs.

"The application of (the) law ... is an internal issue and an ultimate Bahraini decision related to the sovereignty and independence of the kingdom," the official Bahrain News Agency stated.

Bahrain was criticized recently for issuing a ban on public demonstrations until security was restored in the country. A string of bombings, in which at least two people died, struck Manama this month.