SANA, Yemen — In Bahrain yesterday, security forces set up checkpoints and clashed with marchers in at least one village as opposition groups blanketed social media sites with calls to stage the first major antigovernment protests in the Persian Gulf since the uprising in Egypt.
The wide-ranging clampdown appeared directed toward Bahrain’s Shi’ite majority — which led a drive for rallies today — and reflected the increasing worries of the Sunni rulers who have already doled out cash and promised greater media reforms in an effort to quell the protest fervor.
A prominent human rights activist predicted “chaos and bloodshed’’ in Bahrain if attempts are made to crush the planned demonstrations.
The tiny kingdom is among the most politically volatile in the Persian Gulf and holds important strategic value for the West as the home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Thus it is a big deal.
Bahrain’s Shi’ites — accounting for nearly 70 percent of the population — have long complained of systematic discrimination by the ruling Sunni dynasty, whose crackdown on dissent last year touched off riots and clashes....
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"Egypt effect felt across Mideast; Revolt inspires range of protests unique by nation" by Brian Murphy, Associated Press / February 15, 2011
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The possible heirs of Egypt’s uprising took to the streets yesterday in several parts of the Mideast: Iran’s beleaguered opposition stormed back to central Tehran. Demonstrators demanded more freedom in Bahrain. And protesters in Yemen pressed for the ouster of their ruler.
The protests — all with important implications for Washington — offer an important lesson about how groups across the Middle East are absorbing the message from Cairo and tailoring it to their own aspirations.
The heady themes of democracy, justice, and empowerment remain intact as the protest wave works it way through the Arab world and beyond. However, the objectives change. The Egypt effect, it seems, is elastic.
“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing,’’ said Mustafa Alani, a regional analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. “Each place will interpret the fallout from Egypt in their own way and in their own context.’’
************
Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, one of the Pentagon’s main counterweights to Iran’s attempts to expand influence in the Persian Gulf....
Really? Who has Iran invaded lately?
Protesters in the tiny Gulf nation of Bahrain are not looking to topple its monarchy. But their demands are no less lofty: greater political freedom and sweeping changes in how the country is run.
Give them a day or two.
The Bahrain demonstration yesterday was more violent. Security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and birdshot pellets at thousands of antigovernment protesters heeding calls to bring the Arab reform wave to the Gulf. At least 25 people were injured, and one man died after suffering severe head trauma.
Police later used vans and other vehicles to block main roads into the capital of Manama to prevent a mass gathering that organizers intended as an homage to Egypt’s Tahrir Square.
“We are experiencing a pan-Arab democratic moment of sorts,’’ said Shadi Hamid, director of research at The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. “For opposition groups, it comes down the question of, ‘If not now, when?’ ’’
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"Protest in Bahrain swells following violence; Organizer vows peaceful stand; king speaks up" by Michael Slackman, New York Times / February 16, 2011
Thousands of protesters gathered at Pearl Roundabout in Manama, Bahrain. A man was killed in clashes at a rally earlier. (Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)
MANAMA, Bahrain — Thousands of demonstrators poured into this nation’s symbolic center, Pearl Square, late yesterday in a raucous rally that again demonstrated the power of popular movements that are transforming the political landscape of the Middle East.
In a matter of hours, this small, strategically important monarchy experienced the now familiar sequence of events that has rocked the Arab world....
The crowd grew bolder as it grew larger, and, as in Tunisia and Egypt, modest concessions from the government only raised expectations among the protesters, who by day’s end were talking about tearing the whole system down, monarchy and all.
Then as momentum built up behind the protests yesterday, the 18 members of Parliament from the Islamic National Accord Association, the traditional opposition, announced they were suspending participation in the Legislature.
The mood of exhilaration stood in marked contrast to a day that began in sorrow and violence, when mourners who gathered to bury a young man killed the night before by police clashed again with the security forces.
In that melee, a second young man was killed, also by police....
MANAMA, Bahrain — Thousands of demonstrators poured into this nation’s symbolic center, Pearl Square, late yesterday in a raucous rally that again demonstrated the power of popular movements that are transforming the political landscape of the Middle East.
In a matter of hours, this small, strategically important monarchy experienced the now familiar sequence of events that has rocked the Arab world....
The crowd grew bolder as it grew larger, and, as in Tunisia and Egypt, modest concessions from the government only raised expectations among the protesters, who by day’s end were talking about tearing the whole system down, monarchy and all.
Then as momentum built up behind the protests yesterday, the 18 members of Parliament from the Islamic National Accord Association, the traditional opposition, announced they were suspending participation in the Legislature.
The mood of exhilaration stood in marked contrast to a day that began in sorrow and violence, when mourners who gathered to bury a young man killed the night before by police clashed again with the security forces.
In that melee, a second young man was killed, also by police....
Hussein Ramadan, 32, a political activist and organizer who helped lead the crowds from the burial to Pearl Square: “They want us to be violent. We will not.’’
Who would have believed that MUSLIMS would be the ones heeding GANDHI'S ADVICE?
Bahrain is a small, strategically important nation in the Persian Gulf best known as a base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and a playground for residents of Saudi Arabia who can drive over a causeway to enjoy the nightclubs and bars of the far more permissive kingdom. Its ruler, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is an important ally of the United States in fighting terrorism and countering Iranian influence in the region.
It is far too soon to tell where Bahrain’s popular political uprising will go. The demands are economic — people want jobs — as well as political, in that most would like to see the nation transformed from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional one. But the events here, inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, have altered the dynamics in a nation where political expression has long been tamed by harsh police tactics and prison terms....
As night fell yesterday and a cold wind blew off the Persian Gulf, thousands of demonstrators occupied the square or watched from a highway overpass, cheering. Where a day earlier the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anyone who tried to protest, no matter how small, or peaceful, people now waved the red and white flag of Bahrain, gave speeches, chanted slogans, and shared food.
The police massed on the other side of a bridge leading to the square, and a police helicopter never stopped circling, but took no further action, to the protesters’ surprise.
By 10 p.m., many of the people headed home from the square, with many saying they had plans to return the next day. A core group planned to spend the night there in tents.
“Now the people are the real players, not the government, not the opposition,’’ said Matar Ibrahim Matar, 34, an opposition member of Parliament who joined the crowds gathered beneath the mammoth statue. “I don’t think anyone expected this, not the government, not us.’’
Bahrain’s domestic politics have long been tangled. The king and the ruling elite are Sunni Muslims. The majority are Shi’ite Muslims....
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Also see: Police in Bahrain break up protests (By Janine Zacharia, Washington Post)
My printed paper carried an AP piece.
Who would have believed that MUSLIMS would be the ones heeding GANDHI'S ADVICE?
Bahrain is a small, strategically important nation in the Persian Gulf best known as a base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and a playground for residents of Saudi Arabia who can drive over a causeway to enjoy the nightclubs and bars of the far more permissive kingdom. Its ruler, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is an important ally of the United States in fighting terrorism and countering Iranian influence in the region.
It is far too soon to tell where Bahrain’s popular political uprising will go. The demands are economic — people want jobs — as well as political, in that most would like to see the nation transformed from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional one. But the events here, inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, have altered the dynamics in a nation where political expression has long been tamed by harsh police tactics and prison terms....
As night fell yesterday and a cold wind blew off the Persian Gulf, thousands of demonstrators occupied the square or watched from a highway overpass, cheering. Where a day earlier the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anyone who tried to protest, no matter how small, or peaceful, people now waved the red and white flag of Bahrain, gave speeches, chanted slogans, and shared food.
The police massed on the other side of a bridge leading to the square, and a police helicopter never stopped circling, but took no further action, to the protesters’ surprise.
By 10 p.m., many of the people headed home from the square, with many saying they had plans to return the next day. A core group planned to spend the night there in tents.
“Now the people are the real players, not the government, not the opposition,’’ said Matar Ibrahim Matar, 34, an opposition member of Parliament who joined the crowds gathered beneath the mammoth statue. “I don’t think anyone expected this, not the government, not us.’’
Bahrain’s domestic politics have long been tangled. The king and the ruling elite are Sunni Muslims. The majority are Shi’ite Muslims....
--more--"
Also see: Police in Bahrain break up protests (By Janine Zacharia, Washington Post)
My printed paper carried an AP piece.
"Military clamps down in Bahrain’s capital; Police shoot at protesters; more rallies are expected" by Michael Slackman, New York Times / February 18, 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain — The army took control of this city yesterday, except at the main hospital, where thousands of people gathered screaming, crying, collapsing in grief, just hours after the police opened fire with birdshot, rubber bullets, and tear gas on pro-democracy demonstrators camped in Pearl Square.
As the army asserted control of the streets with tanks and heavily armed soldiers, the once peaceful protesters were transformed into a mob of angry mourners chanting slogans like “death to the king,’’ while the opposition withdrew from Parliament and demanded that the government step down.
Looks like the CLAMPDOWN BACKFIRED!
But for those who were in Pearl Square in the early morning hours, when the police opened fired without warning on thousands who were sleeping there, it was a day of shock and disbelief....
Emotions ran high in this small Persian Gulf nation, even as the foreign minister, Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, defended the police action as a last resort meant to pull Bahrain back from the “brink of a sectarian abyss.’’ Tanks rolled into the city center, many stores remained closed, and sidewalks and public spaces stayed eerily empty....
Look at them trying to turn this into a sectarian issue.
Arab leaders have been badly shaken in recent days, with entrenched presidents in Egypt and Tunisia ousted by popular uprisings and with demonstrations flaring around the region. And now as the public’s sense of empowerment spread, the call to change has reached into this Persian Gulf kingdom. That has raised anxiety in Saudi Arabia, connected to Bahrain by a bridge, and Kuwait as well, Sunni-governed states with restive Shi’ite populations. Officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council met here to discuss how to handle the crisis.
The international community also weighed in, concerned as yet another Arab leader decided to try using lethal force to put down peaceful opposition protests. Bahrain is small, but it is a strategic ally of the United States, which bases its Fifth Fleet here. The royal family in Bahrain has long been an ally in efforts to fight terrorism and push back the regional influence of Iran.
But here in the streets, people were not focused on geopolitics. The events centered on very domestic demands for democracy, rule of law, and social justice. The island nation is 70 percent Shi’ite and is governed by a king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who is Sunni. When protests started Monday, the demands were for a constitutional monarchy, but in the anger of the day the chants evolved into calls for tearing down the whole system....
The fearful and hostile mood was set the night before, when the police opened fire. Doctors, victims, and witnesses gave a detailed account of how the police assault unfolded, revealing details of a calculated, coordinated attack that closed in from all sides, offering no way out....
In Manama, Bahrain, a woman visited her son after at least three died and hundreds were injured in the capital’s Pearl Square. (John Moore/Getty Images)
That never changes no matter where you go.
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"Army forces in Bahrain fire on protesters, at ambulances; Attacks don’t keep critics from marching" by Michael Slackman and Nadim Audi, New York Times / February 19, 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain — At exactly 5:18 p.m. yesterday, the prodemocracy demonstrators, mostly young men, came to a fork in the road. Turn right, and they would head to a hospital that has cared for protesters. Turn left it was into Pearl Square, the symbolic center of the nation, where the army was waiting.
The crowd paused, briefly, to let out a cheer, and turned left. Within minutes they were screaming, “Live fire, live fire,’’ as the military began shooting — from a high-rise building, from a helicopter, and from the road in front of the demonstrators. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa’s government had warned them: March and you will be shot. The opposition had warned the king that they would never give up.
Both sides held fast in a confrontation that continued to escalate by the day as the king, a Sunni, showed his increasing willingness to use lethal force to preserve his absolute authority, and the opposition, mostly from the majority Shi’ite community, showed that it was increasingly galvanized by that use of force.
“My friend, my brother, he just got shot in the head,’’ said Mazen Al Smeh, 27, as he struggled to catch his breath on the side of the road, his face covered in tears, his hands painted with blood....
When ambulances arrived for the injured, the army opened fire. When the shooting seemed to stop, a few young men dropped to their knees to pray on the bloodstained road, and the army started to shoot at them, again....
This small Persian Gulf nation, a strategic ally of the United States, has long strained against the pressure of the political tensions between a Shi’ite majority and a king and ruling class of the Sunni minority. That tension has been supercharged in recent weeks as demands for democracy, rule of law, and social justice have rocked the Middle East with popular movements that have forced the resignation of the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt....
On Monday, young people began their protests, organizing a Day of Rage, hoping peaceful protests could force the evolution of their nation from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.
How come governments never listen?
But on that day, the king unleashed his police, and every effort at demonstrating was met by a wave of tear gas and rubber bullets. By night’s end, one young man, Ali Mushaima, 21, was dead, shot in the back by the police. The next day, as thousands gathered to mourn, another young man was killed.
Washington pressured the government to ease off, and the authorities agreed. The king expressed regret on television. The opposition saw its chance and marched into Pearl Square. Thousands of people set up tents, created a speakers’ podium, and reveled in their first chance for a public display of dissent.
Then Thursday, the government changed its mind and again unleashed the police, who shot at sleeping protesters.
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"Protesters retake Bahrain square as security forces leave" by Michael Slackman, New York Times / February 20, 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain — Thousands of jubilant protesters surged back into the symbolic heart of Bahrain yesterday after government security forces withdrew and the monarchy called for peace after two days of violent crackdowns.
It was a remarkable turn after a week of protests that had shifted by the hour between joy and fear, euphoric surges of popular uprising followed by bloody military crackdowns, as the monarchy struggled to calibrate a response to an uprising whose counterparts have toppled other governments in the region....
The shift in this tiny Persian Gulf nation, a strategic American ally, was at least a temporary victory for the Shi’ite majority and was being watched closely in neighboring Saudi Arabia, another Sunni monarchy with a restive Shi’ite population.
The events in Pearl Square also rippled across the region, where an extraordinary few months of antigovernment protests have ricocheted from northwest Africa to the Middle East. Antigovernment demonstrations erupted again yesterday in Libya, Algeria, and Yemen, where by the end of the day, unlike Bahrain, standoffs with authoritarian governments yielded no clear advantage to either side....
The day started in much the same way in Bahrain, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds of protesters. Young men collapsed in the road and others ran for cover.
Then the government blinked, perhaps sensing that the only way to calm a spiral of violence that had claimed many lives was to cede the square to the protesters.
The police left, so suddenly that it took a minute for the protesters to realize they were gone and that they once again controlled Pearl Square.
By early evening, tens of thousands of people waving Bahrain flags, some dropping to the ground to pray, shouting congratulations to each other, had packed the square and the surrounding streets in bittersweet jubilation, savoring the moment with a degree of sadness for the loss of at least seven people killed during the week....
It appeared to be a victory for the protesters, although there was still no clear idea where it would all lead.
The government had ceded the square before, on Wednesday, only to return with a deadly assault on Thursday. On Friday, the army opened fire on a group of about 1,000 peaceful demonstrators trying to walk into the square.
The varied responses appeared to reflect some turmoil within the government on how to respond to the uprising....
How about GIVING the PEOPLE what they WANT?
Bahrain is fractured by political tension between the royal family, which is Sunni, and the majority of the nation, which is Shi’ite.
Is that why the protesters are waving the Bahrain flag?
The Shi’ite community and the largest political party, Al Wafiq, have long charged discrimination in housing, employment, education, and governance. When the protests started on Feb. 14, in a so-called Day of Rage modeled after events in Egypt and Tunisia, demonstrators were calling for creation of a constitutional monarchy, an elected cabinet, and a constitution written by the people as opposed to one that was imposed by the king.
The first day of demonstrations was met with an aggressive police response and zero tolerance. One man was killed; the next day another man was dead. Both had been shot in the back by the police.
The deaths infuriated and invigorated the opposition, and the government eased off. Crowds then swelled into Pearl Square, setting up camp beneath a towering monument with a pearl on top.
While the angry protesters employed peaceful means, they called for the end of the monarchy altogether.
The government returned to its hard-line approach. At 3 a.m. Thursday, police attacked without warning as thousands slept in the square. At least five were killed, though exact figures have not been verified. At least 25 people are still missing from that night, including children.
Battle lines hardened Friday night. Thousands of protesters rallied outside the main hospital insisting that they would avenge the blood of those injured, and then marched to the square.
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"Bahrain opposition crowds swell; Protesters dismiss government offers amid uneasy truce" by Michael Slackman, New York Times / February 21, 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain — Teachers, lawyers, and engineers marched into Pearl Square yesterday, joining an emboldened opposition whose political leaders demanded that the king dissolve the government and fire his uncle, who has held the post of prime minister for 40 years, before they agree to enter into talks.
An anxious calm prevailed, with a standoff continuing between an absolute monarchy determined to preserve its full range of powers and a peaceful opposition demanding a transition to democracy with an elected government and representative Parliament.
Demonstrators continued to occupy the symbolic center of the nation at Pearl Square, and by last evening tens of thousands of people had jammed into the square in the largest gathering in a week of demonstrations....
Officials with the leading opposition party, the Shi’ite movement called Al Wafaq, said that with six people dead, one brain dead in the hospital, hundreds injured, and many still missing, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa would first have to convince them that he was willing to compromise after repeatedly unleashing his security forces on civilians over the past week....
“You can’t send your troops with machine guns, kill people, and then expect to start a dialogue,’’ said Abdul Jalil Khalil Ebrahim, one the 18 party members to withdraw from Parliament in protest over the deaths. “The Cabinet has to go. This government has failed. How can we trust them in a dialogue? You kill people and then you say you want to talk?’’
He CERTAINLY HAS a POINT!!
The government has repeatedly declined requests for comment.
There are three main players in the royal family besides the king. They are the crown prince, known as the most moderate among the group; the prime minister, who is said to be extremely wealthy, but whose power has ebbed as popular anger at him has peaked; and the minister of the Royal Court, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed, known as the hard-liner of the trio, opposition leaders said....
The king is known to play his inner circle off against each other....
With the army removed from Pearl Square, where only two days earlier soldiers opened fire on a group of peaceful demonstrators, and with police withdrawn under intense pressure from the United States, the opposition acted as if it were in a position of strength. Seven opposition parties have called for a demonstration tomorrow, which Ebrahim said he believed could draw the largest crowds to date....
The opposition, a popular movement centered in Bahrain’s majority Shi’ite community and sparked by young people, was elated at its ability to camp out in Pearl Square on Saturday night but somber over the toll of dead, wounded, and missing.
The issue of the missing has until now been largely overlooked as events swung from violence to hope, as the authorities vacillated between attacking protesters and withdrawing security forces....
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"A prominent opposition figure accused by Bahrain of plotting against the state plans to return from London, and the move could bolster protesters and force authorities into difficult choices....
Western intelligence trying to get their man in?
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"More than 100,000 demonstrate in Bahrain; Biggest rally yet draws one-fifth of population" by Michael Slackman and Nadim Audi, New York Times / February 23, 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain — More than 100,000 demonstrators packed central Pearl Square here yesterday in what organizers called the largest prodemocracy demonstration this tiny Persian Gulf nation had ever seen, as the monarchy struggled to hold onto its monopoly on power.
In a nation of only 500,000 citizens, the sheer size of the gathering was astonishing. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children, mostly members of the Shi’ite majority, formed a ribbon of protest for several miles along the Sheik Khalifa bin Salman Highway as they headed for the square, calling for the downfall of the government in a march intended to show national unity.
So much for stirring the sectarian pot.
“This is the first time in the history of Bahrain that the majority of people, of Bahraini people, got together with one message: This regime must fall,’’ said Muhammad Abdullah, 43, who was almost shaking with emotion as he watched the swelling crowd.
But for all the talk of political harmony, the past week’s events have left Bahrain as badly divided as it has ever been. Its economy is threatened and its reputation damaged. Standard & Poor’s lowered its credit rating this week, Bahraini authorities canceled next month’s Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One race — a source of pride for the royal family — many businesses remain closed, and tourism is down.
Yeah, it is the elites against everyone else.
On one side of the divide is a Sunni minority that largely supports King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the protector of its interests. On the other is a Shi’ite majority that knows the changes it seeks will inevitably bring power to its side....
I'm tired of the agenda-pushing, war-promoting paper pushing division and sectarianism where there is none.
But so far there is no substantive dialogue between the sides. There is a test of wills, as the Sunnis fight to hold onto what they have and the Shi’ites grapple for their fair share....
The days of protest and repression have mostly been about the Shi’ites speaking up and the Sunnis cracking down.
That is the AmeriKan media's interpretation.
But on Monday night, in the wealthy neighborhood of Juffair, tens of thousands of progovernment demonstrators poured into Al Fateh Grand Mosque to express their support for the embattled king.
The progovernment crowd borrowed some of the opposition’s slogans, including “no Sunni, no Shia, only Bahraini.’’ But that was where the call for unity started and ended.
The mosque crowd was mostly affluent, unlike the mostly low-income Shi’ites who took to the streets to demand a constitutional monarchy, an elected government, and a representative Parliament. The air was scented with perfume, and people drove expensive cars. In a visceral demonstration of the distance between Sunni and Shi’ite, the crowd cheered a police helicopter that swooped low, a symbol of the heavy-handed tactics that have been used to intimidate the Shi’ites....
The government seems to have accepted that violence will not silence the opposition and has shifted its strategy. It has set up a press center to get its message out and is working with a public relations firm.
Translation: they have turned to PROPAGANDA -- which is ALWAYS BETTER than KILLING PEOPLE when they are SLEEPING!
The opposition has stuck with its tactic of peaceful protest. Yesterday, the Shi’ite political parties called for the demonstration to start at the Bahrain mall and march into Pearl Square. Even the organizers were surprised as turnout swelled.
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Western intelligence trying to get their man in?
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"More than 100,000 demonstrate in Bahrain; Biggest rally yet draws one-fifth of population" by Michael Slackman and Nadim Audi, New York Times / February 23, 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain — More than 100,000 demonstrators packed central Pearl Square here yesterday in what organizers called the largest prodemocracy demonstration this tiny Persian Gulf nation had ever seen, as the monarchy struggled to hold onto its monopoly on power.
In a nation of only 500,000 citizens, the sheer size of the gathering was astonishing. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children, mostly members of the Shi’ite majority, formed a ribbon of protest for several miles along the Sheik Khalifa bin Salman Highway as they headed for the square, calling for the downfall of the government in a march intended to show national unity.
So much for stirring the sectarian pot.
“This is the first time in the history of Bahrain that the majority of people, of Bahraini people, got together with one message: This regime must fall,’’ said Muhammad Abdullah, 43, who was almost shaking with emotion as he watched the swelling crowd.
But for all the talk of political harmony, the past week’s events have left Bahrain as badly divided as it has ever been. Its economy is threatened and its reputation damaged. Standard & Poor’s lowered its credit rating this week, Bahraini authorities canceled next month’s Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One race — a source of pride for the royal family — many businesses remain closed, and tourism is down.
Yeah, it is the elites against everyone else.
On one side of the divide is a Sunni minority that largely supports King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the protector of its interests. On the other is a Shi’ite majority that knows the changes it seeks will inevitably bring power to its side....
I'm tired of the agenda-pushing, war-promoting paper pushing division and sectarianism where there is none.
But so far there is no substantive dialogue between the sides. There is a test of wills, as the Sunnis fight to hold onto what they have and the Shi’ites grapple for their fair share....
The days of protest and repression have mostly been about the Shi’ites speaking up and the Sunnis cracking down.
That is the AmeriKan media's interpretation.
But on Monday night, in the wealthy neighborhood of Juffair, tens of thousands of progovernment demonstrators poured into Al Fateh Grand Mosque to express their support for the embattled king.
The progovernment crowd borrowed some of the opposition’s slogans, including “no Sunni, no Shia, only Bahraini.’’ But that was where the call for unity started and ended.
The mosque crowd was mostly affluent, unlike the mostly low-income Shi’ites who took to the streets to demand a constitutional monarchy, an elected government, and a representative Parliament. The air was scented with perfume, and people drove expensive cars. In a visceral demonstration of the distance between Sunni and Shi’ite, the crowd cheered a police helicopter that swooped low, a symbol of the heavy-handed tactics that have been used to intimidate the Shi’ites....
The government seems to have accepted that violence will not silence the opposition and has shifted its strategy. It has set up a press center to get its message out and is working with a public relations firm.
Translation: they have turned to PROPAGANDA -- which is ALWAYS BETTER than KILLING PEOPLE when they are SLEEPING!
The opposition has stuck with its tactic of peaceful protest. Yesterday, the Shi’ite political parties called for the demonstration to start at the Bahrain mall and march into Pearl Square. Even the organizers were surprised as turnout swelled.
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