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| Anti-government protesters and relatives accompany the coffin with the corpse of protester Abdul Redha Mohamed Hassan, 32, who was shot by security forces while trying to march to Pearl Square, during the burial ceremony in the village of Malkiya, Bahrain yesterday |
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched to Pearl Square -- the focal point of the week-long protests in central Manama -- to press demands for political reform.
Led by opposition groups such as Wefaq and Waad, it was the first organised demonstration and followed spontaneous protests by a rising youth movement relying on social media.
“We want the fall of the government” was the most common chant. “We want a new government, the people need to rule the country,” said protester Abbas al-Fardan. Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the opposition Haq movement, had said on his Facebook page on Monday that he wanted to see if the island nation’s leadership was serious about dialogue or if it would arrest him and was due to arrive late yesterday.
Mushaimaa, who is based in London, is one of 25 people on trial since last year over an alleged coup plot but a statement by King Hamad bin Isa on Monday hinted that the trial would be shelved, allowing Mushaimaa an unhindered return.
But Mushaimaa was unabled to board his flight to Bahrain in Beirut where he had landed earlier for a planned stopover.
Abbas al-Amran, who described himself as a friend of Mushaimaa, said from London that Mushaimaa’s name had probably still been blacklisted on security lists. “He could not catch any other flight tonight so probably he will fly tomorrow,” he said. State media said the king had ordered the release of convicted prisoners whose names would be released today and a stop to ongoing court cases -- opposition figures said they understood this to mean the trial will be shelved. “We’re expecting this even though we don’t know for sure,” said Jasim Husain of the Shia Wefaq group.
It was not clear if this would be enough to bring opposition groups into a dialogue that King Hamad has asked his son, the crown prince, to conduct.
“His royal highness continues to call for all Bahrainis to engage in this new process (of dialogue) to move away from polarisation and ensure that sectarianism does not take root,” government spokeswoman Maysun Sabkar told a news conference.
She said the crown prince had met some opposition leaders in recent days, though opposition groups say no dialogue has begun yet.
Sabkar said she had no information on prisoner releases. Inspired by peaceful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, protesters set up camp at Pearl Square after security forces tried to break up their protest but then withdrew last week.