Reform only way forward: Bahrain opposition head

MANAMA: The only way forward for Bahrain is through political reform rather than oppression and a heavy-handed crackdown, the head of its main opposition bloc said in an interview.

The opposition pulled its 18 MPs out of parliament two of whom have been detained in protest at violence against demonstrators.

Sheikh Ali Salman, who heads Al-Wefaq, said his movement was also not planning to take part in upcoming by-elections.

The government is now "definitely demanded to introduce serious reforms. What is also definite is that stability will not come through oppression," said Salman, ahead of the lifting of emergency laws enforced in mid-March.

The Wefaq leader said "security (forces) will not bring the solution without political reform, this bad situation will continue and there will not be real stability."

If the authorities, widely criticised by rights groups for their heavy-handed clampdown on protestors, continue with the same policies after the June 1 lifting of emergency law, the crisis will remain unchanged, he said.

"If the same mentality that runs the country now continues in the coming days ... this means that Bahrain will remain 'ill,'" he said, insisting on a political solution.

"You have frightened the people with tanks, so you have to keep tanks around. This would be far from normal," he said, warning that protesters were already returning to the streets in their villages.

The cleric led the political front of month-long protests on the streets that erupted in mid-February led by the youth inspired by uprisings that toppled long-time strongmen in Tunisia and Egypt.

Banking on the unprecedented mass protest camped out at Manama's Pearl roundabout, before it was raided in mid-March, Salman's Wefaq and six other opposition groups raised the stakes, demanding a "real" constitutional monarchy.

Some demonstrators from the disenfranchised community called for the fall of the Al-Khalifa dynasty, sending shivers across the Arab monarchies of the Gulf wary of neighbouring Iran's influence.

"We said: The people want to reform the regime. We did not raise the slogan of toppling the regime," said Salman. "We conducted a survey among demonstrators, and the majority said they wanted a constitutional monarchy."

"The preliminary decision of the opposition is not to take part in the by-elections (in September). We will announce our final decision in the coming days," he said.

"We have tried out participation (in parliament) and we did not manage to change a single law," he said, pointing to the blocking powers of an upper chamber which is appointed by the king.

In a blow to Al-Wefaq, two of its former MPs, Matar Matar and Jawad Fayruz, were arrested at gunpoint shortly after fellow MPs voted to accept their resignation. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

"Since they were arrested, there has been no information about them. They have not contacted their families. Those are (former) MPs ... so one can imagine what an ordinary citizen would be facing," said Salman.

The MPs were seized amid a massive wave of arrests of protestors, including dozens of medics, and notably female doctors and teachers, some of whom have spoken of torture after their release.

"The regime should realise that what has happened over the past two months will not be wiped from the memories of people, who will not forget and will work on documenting it," said Salman.

"We always said we do not want a state based on religion and that we want a civic state. We do not want the 'Wilayat al-Faqih' and it is not applicable in Bahrain," he said, referring to "rule of the supreme cleric" applied in Iran.

"We want a constitutional monarchy where the Al-Khalifas would be the monarchs. We do not want Iran to meddle in our internal affairs, nor Saudi Arabia," he said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011