Monday, February 21, 2011

Thousands of Bahraini protesters set up a tent city in a Manama square that has come to symbolize their cause, some calling Sunday for immediate political change and others hoping for talks to resolve the crisis.
Many are starting to call Pearl Square “Martyrs’ Circle,” in memory of the four people killed in Thursday’s night-time raid by riot police to clear the area.

Protesters swept back in late Saturday after Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa ordered troops and armored vehicles to withdraw. He said he would lead a national dialogue after days of unrest that left six dead.
“We will not sit down with murderers. No to dialogue!” one woman shouted, as people handed out bread, fruit and juice.

Along with a medical center and lost-and-found department, tents were being organized and portable toilets brought in.
“I came here to prove we are united,” said May Hadi, 27, a Sunni woman who said she was a treasury dealer. “Bahrain television is trying to show we are divided. We are not. They are trying to prove it is a Shiite revolution. We are asking for freedom in this country.”

Dozens of workers also joined the protesters, and over 1,000 medics marched on the square to demand the resignation of the health minister, whom they accused of slowing aid to protesters during a deadly police crackdown.

Lawyers wearing suits and ties also joined protesters and conducted lessons on Bahrain’s constitution. They called for state officials to be put on trial after security forces opened fire and “inflicted harm on citizens” – a constitutional offense – as people chanted anti-government slogans and demanded the king be held responsible.
At the Sanabis Intermediate Girls School, about 10 women teachers sat outside the empty school yard in a sign of support for the strike.

“We are on strike to support our fellow people in the square,” said Samira Ali, 40, a science teacher.

“We feel emboldened with our cause after blood was spilled. I want a real constitutional monarchy where my voice is heard and my message reaches to the government.”
Samira Salman, 48, an Arabic teacher, carried a sign reading: “You can take my life but you can’t take my freedom.” She wore a Bahrain flag as a cape.

“We won’t leave until our demands for the government to resign are met. I want everything to do with the system to fall. Our blood was on the street and I feel more confident about our cause,” she said after returning from the protest crowds refilling Pearl Square in central Manama.

Many parts of the country were paralyzed by a general strike called by opposition groups and workers’ unions.
But with the focus switching to talks rather than clashes, Bahrain’s main trade union called off a general strike it had organized for Monday, saying its main demand for the right to demonstrate peacefully had been met.

At state-run Gulf Air, union leaders urged workers to join Sunday’s general strike. But an e-mail to employees by the airline’s director warned that any no-shows could face dismissal. The carrier said no flights have been disrupted.
At another state-owned giant, The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BopCo.), the trade union told workers they have the right to strike and some managers even told workers to leave work, said Mehdi Hassan, an electrical engineer at BopCo. Other managers were noting names of employees on strike, he added.

“I am striking because right now in my life my demands to get rights from the government is my top priority,” Hasan said. “I want the right to choose and elect those I want in the government.” – Agencies