Friday, February 25, 2011

Bahrain, which has seen thousands of mainly Shiite protesters take to the streets, is seeking a national dialogue where everything is on the table, the foreign minister said Thursday.

Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa said a national dialogue would include “all walks of people,” including a Bahraini opposition figure who was pardoned and is seeking to return home.
The remarks by Sheikh Khaled came as top U.S. military officer Admiral Mike Mullen arrived in Bahrain.
“What’s happening in Bahrain is a new transformation, a new beginning for our reforms that started a decade ago,” Sheikh Khaled told Reuters.

“Everything can be brought to the table,” Sheikh Khaled said, responding to questions over whether Bahrain would consider changes in its Cabinet in response to the demands of protesters.
Bahrain saw the worst unrest since the 1990s when seven were killed last week in protests by its majority Shiites that complain of discrimination and want an elected government.

Sheikh Khaled said he expected formal talks between the government and the opposition to start within days and that Hassan Mushaimaa, the London-based leader of the Shiite Haq movement, could return to the country.
Mushaimaa has been stranded in Beirut since Tuesday after authorities blocked him from boarding a flight to Manama because his name was on an international arrest warrant.

Mushaimaa is among 25 people charged last year over an alleged coup plot and was being tried in absentia. But the government freed the other defendants Tuesday as one of several gestures to try to defuse anti-government protests that at their height drew tens of thousands.
A statement by King Hamad bin Isa Monday hinted the trial would be shelved, which would let Mushaimaa return unhindered.

Bahrain’s protesters want a constitutional monarchy instead of the existing system where citizens vote for a mostly toothless Parliament and policy remains the preserve of a ruling elite centered on the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty.
Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has offered dialogue but has yet to persuade the opposition that the government is serious about constitutional reforms.

Pro-government supporters have also staged rallies. “Talks with representatives of Bahrain society and the Crown Prince continue and positive progress is being made toward the commencement of the national dialogue,” a government statement said.

The Shiite opposition Al-Wifaq party, however, said there had been “no progress at all.”
Former Al-Wifaq lawmaker Ibrahim Mattar said his party wanted a clear commitment to a constitutional monarchy before coming to the table.
But some of the freed prisoners claimed they were tortured in prison.

“They only dealt with us through electric shocks, beating and insults,” one of the pardoned activists, Sheikh Mohammad Habib al-Muqdad told the local Al-Wasat daily.
Bahrain is a key ally of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and the United States, which bases its Fifth Fleet in the kingdom.

Mullen, on a regional tour, said the visits were aimed at “reaffirming, reassuring and also trying to understand where the leaderships of these countries are going, and in particular in Bahrain.” He was due to meet King Hamad and Crown Prince Salman.

Thousands of demonstrators marched Thursday from Pearl Square toward central Manama carrying seven symbolic coffins in remembrance of the victims.
The demonstrators also renamed the square “Martyrs’ Roundabout” in honor of the people who were killed in the police crackdown.

“The demonstration is heading toward Bab al-Bahrain, which is the central and historical area in Manama,” said one of the organizers, Hani al-Kaffas.
“Although Pearl Square is the main place, our activities are meant to be across all of Bahrain’s territories,” Kaffas told AFP.

A large banner strung up between two palm trees at the tent city in Pearl Square read: “Whoever thinks they can liquidate our cause by suggesting dialogue is under illusion.”
The Al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain for 200 years, dominates a Cabinet led by the king’s uncle, who has been prime minister for 40 years since independence in 1971. – Agencies