Page 534 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (I)_Neat

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532 -1U-

Bahrain Court an- sentenced to death.
16. ATioS UtiU LU-ud j i o 1 J'»4 • in connecticn

with the attacks on minj ar.c Bar'car the police
ccrridQ cut several searci.es of villages ana
while this was beiiq, done it v.as discovered
that a very lar^e percentage or the popula­

tion are m possession ol rules ana anmuni-
tion. l estimate, roughly, that there are
between two ana three thousand serviceable

rifles in the possession ci the Bahama
villagers and probably an even greater pro­
portion in the arac viliaf.es such as hafaa,
.aellag ana Budeya.
Although the insert oi firearms is for­

bidden there is no law forbidding
the possession cf urearms m Bahrain, 1

have reason to suppose that urearas are
being smuggled into Bahrain irom the mainland,
l have discussed the question with His jsicei-
lency bhaiuh Hamad ana his brothers ana they

are in favour of a system of registration
such as in force in most other countries,
it is proposed to issue a proclamation stating
that ail rifles murff be registered, tnev win

be stampeu ana numbered ana the transfer of
rifles win be forbidden, 1 am confident
that legislation on tnese lines will contri­
bute to reduce the number oi crimes by armed men.