Agencies/Manama
Eighteen Bahraini MPs from Al Wefaq Shia opposition bloc officially submitted their letter of resignation yesterday to protest the killing of anti-regime demonstrators, lawmakers said.
Bahraini anti-government protesters demonstrate in the streets of Manama yesterday
Seven people have been killed by security forces since anti-government demonstrations began in Bahrain on February 14. The protests have continued unabated since.
“We are no longer affiliated with this council,” read the letter signed by the 18 MPs, a copy of which was emailed to this agency.
The 18 MPs of Al Wefaq, or the Islamic National Accord Association, make up the largest single bloc in the parliament, which had last week announced quitting the parliament.
“Officially, we submitted the resignation letter today,” Khalil al-Marzouk, one of the 18 MPs, said.
Two other Al Wefaq MPs, Ali al-Aswad and Mattar Mattar confirmed the announcement.
Mattar said that the head of parliament will now compile a report on the resignations and submit it to parliament, which must accept them or reject them.
If parliament accepts the resignations, after two months “there will be partial elections, just for the constituencies which became empty,” said Mattar.
If it does not accept the resignations, “the parliament continues its work with those numbers, with the 22 (remaining) members.”
Mattar added that parliament may not accept the resignations.
The letter from the 18 MPs did not mention King Hamad’s reshuffle of the cabinet Saturday in a bid to placate anti-government protesters and lawmakers said the changes did not meet their demands for reforms.
And Aswad said that “one of the most important preconditions (for dialogue)... is that the government needs to resign first -- not to change a few ministers.”
Official Bahraini opposition groups, led by Al Wefaq, have stopped short of demanding outright change, instead calling for major reforms including an elected prime minister and the creation of a constitutional monarchy.
However, protesters have been less equivocal in their demands.
Demonstrators yesterday continued to keep vigil in hundreds of tents in Manama’s Pearl Square, which has become the epicentre of protests.
Meanwhile, a Bahraini dissident has said he would accept a Western-style constitutional monarchy in the Gulf state if protesters supported the measure. Hassan Mushaimaa was allowed to return to Bahrain as part of several concessions by the rulers.
“If it is a real monarchy as we know it in England, the royal family are honorary but do not control government,” Mushaimaa, leader of the Haq movement told a news conference. “If all the people, and especially the people on Pearl Square agree on this (then that is good) ... that’s why the Haq movement and me did not fix demands, we are talking about the demands of the people.”
Mushaimaa returned to Bahrain on Saturday after being pardoned by the king along with 24 other Shia activists accused of attempting to topple the government using violence. More moderate groups, such as Wefaq that draw substantially higher numbers in support, have called for the resignation of the cabinet and a new constitution, under which the government is elected.
