Thousands of Shia Bahrainis rallied Saturday answering a call from their largest opposition group, Al-Wefaq, in the first demonstration since a mid-march crackdown on Shia-led pro-democracy protests. The rally, staged under the banner "Bahrain, homeland for all" in the Shia village of Sar, 10 days after a state of emergency was lifted, had received the nod from authorities, Al-Wefaq politician ex-MP Hadi al-Moussawi told AFP.
"The ministry of interior has been informed, and there was no objection," he said by telephone, adding that police stayed away from the immediate vicinity of the venue, as demonstrators spilled into neighbouring streets. "This presence in the street is to tell the authorities that we still demand political change... Our slogan is: 'The people want to reform the regime'," Moussawi said.
Shias, who form the majority in the kingdom ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty, had led a month-long protest inspired by uprisings which toppled the autocratic leaders of Tunisia and Egypt. Authorities backed by troops that rolled into Bahrain from fellow Gulf nations quelled the protest, and security forces launched a massive campaign of arrests against activists, as well as doctors, medics and teachers accused of backing protesters.
Authorities said 24 people, including four policemen, were killed in the unrest. The opposition said scores were arrested, amid wide claims of torture, while hundreds were dismissed from their jobs. "No one was left out in the (government's) revenge," Moussawi said. "These people came to express their rejection. The punishment inflicted on the people by the authorities made them believe that there is not much more to lose." At the rally, the leader of Al-Wefaq, cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, described the recent events as a "grim black three months that left deep wounds in the body of the homeland."
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