Bahrain’s peaceful protesters demand ouster of government

Reporting from Manama, Bahrain —  Tens of thousands of protesters pressed their demands Tuesday for the dismissal of Bahrain’s government, saying they would not relent until substantial reforms were enacted.

The demonstrators assembled at a mall and walked to the capital’s Pearl Square, which has become the center of their peaceful movement. The rally started in the late afternoon and lasted into the evening.

The protest was a rebuttal to a demonstration Monday organized by the pro-government National Unity Group. Hundreds of thousands attended that rally, according to reports by state TV, and the protesters Tuesday sought to show they had a larger following.

The protest had been timed to coincide with the return to the country of exiled Shiite Muslim politician Hassan Mushaima, who was wanted for arrest last year in an alleged plot against the government. His flight back was delayed until Wednesday, Shiite politicians and human rights activists said.

People in the square also were awaiting the release of political prisoners. The offer of releases was made the day before in a statement by King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa. However, as of Tuesday night, rights activists and politicians said they had no knowledge that anyone had been freed.

The monarchy called for a national dialogue after its forces opened fire on demonstrators last week. But the wish for greater democracy is complicated by tensions between the island’s Shiite Muslim majority and its Sunni Muslim royal family. If the monarchy cedes too much power, there is the risk that the royal family could gradually be pushed out by the parliament.

Bahrain’s neighbor Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf monarchies are believed to be worried about the turmoil in Bahrain and the prospect of Shiites gaining too much power. Saudi Arabia’s eastern province of Dhahran, rich with oil, has its own Shiite majority but remains firmly under the control of the Saudi royal family, which is Sunni.

The island nation’s official reconciliation process is being led by Crown Prince Salman ibn Hamed Khalifa. Protesters believe the prince was tapped because the general population blames King Hamed for the violence last week, including the killing of seven people by security forces.

In a first step over the weekend, the prince assured demonstrators that they could stay in Pearl Square without being attacked again. But the main political opposition groups have said they will not enter talks until the government is dissolved and all political prisoners are freed.

Matters are made more difficult by tensions between the established parties and the amorphous youth movement that called for the original demonstrations Feb. 14, inspired by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.

However, there are signs of a thaw. A politician with the Shiite Wefaq party, Ahmed Adnan Alawe, praised the offer to release detainees and said the crown prince still needed to dissolve the government. He also complimented the demands Sunnis made in the pro-government rally for greater democracy and freeing political prisoners.

“It’s a good start,” Alawe said.

The White House has applauded the recalibration by Bahrain’s royal family.

“We commend the steps taken by King Hamed as well as Crown Prince Salman and others to restore calm to Bahrain, to allow peaceful demonstrations to take place,” State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said.

“We view recent announcements to launch a national dialogue and the release of political prisoners as positive steps towards addressing the concerns of Bahraini citizens.”

ned.parker@latimes.com