Bahrain's king approved parliamentary reforms on Thursday after the suppression of pro-democracy protests, granting more powers of scrutiny for the elected lower house but preserving the dominance of an upper house aappointed by the royal elite. King Hamad bin Isa was addressing a state-appointed body called the National Dialogue, set up to address popular grievances after martial law was rescinded in May, after it presented its final proposals on reforms.
They fell far short of what opposition groups and protesters demanded in February and March, when the unrest was crushed. The country's largest Shia opposition group, Wefaq, walked out of the dialogue last week, calling it "theatre". "We have ordered the executive and legislative authorities to take the necessary measures to approve the agreements," the king said in a speech shown on state television.
Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers called in troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in March to help quell protests dominated by the majority Shia community. The government said the unrest was sectarian and backed by non-Arab Shia power Iran. Bahraini Shias denied this. A summary of the National Dialogue's proposals published on Thursday include a greater degree of oversight of government by the elected lower house but the key dispute over balance of power between different parliamentary chambers was not resolved. Bahrain has tried to address international criticism, including from Washington, of a harsh security crackdown that followed the break-up of the protests involving detention, military trials, sackings and some deaths in custody.
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