By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011
By Frederik Richter
Reuters

MANAMA: Police in Bahrain fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up pro-reform demonstrations Monday and one protester was killed, witnesses said, in a “Day of Rage” stimulated by popular upheaval in Egypt and Tunisia.

Helicopters circled over Manama, where protesters had been due to gather but which remained quiet as security forces patrolled Shiite areas. More than 20 people were hurt, one of them critically, in clashes in Shiite villages that ring the capital, witnesses said.
Two witnesses at a Manama hospital said a 22-year-old protester from Daih village died from bullet wounds in his back, and another was in critical condition with a fractured skull.

In the village of Diraz, authorities dispersed with tear gas about 100 Shiite protesters who had squared off with police, demanding more political rights. Another 10 were injured in Nuweidrat by police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters calling for the release of Shiite detainees.

“There were 2,000 sitting in the street voicing their demands when police started firing,” 24-year-old Kamel said.
“We don’t want to overthrow the ruling family, we just want to have our say,” said Ali Jassem, married to a daughter of Sheikh Issa Qassem, a powerful Shiite cleric.

Demonstrations also took place in the Shiite-majority villages of Sanabis, west of Manama, Sitra, east of the capital, and Jed Hafs just to the north, as well as the historic Balad Al-Qadim quarter in the city center, witnesses said.
Diplomats say Bahrain’s demonstrations, organized on Facebook and Twitter, would gauge whether a larger base of Shiites can be drawn to the streets.

“We call on all Bahraini people – men, women, boys and girls – to share in our rallies in a peaceful and civilized way to guarantee a stable and promising future for ourselves and our children,” activists said in a statement on Twitter.
“We would like to stress that Feb. 14 is only the beginning. The road may be long and the rallies may continue for days and weeks, but if a people one day chooses life, then destiny will respond.”
There was no immediate comment from Bahraini authorities.
Protest organizers said they sought a new constitution, to be drawn up by a committee including both Sunnis and Shiites.

They want an elected prime minister, the release of “all political prisoners,” and a probe of torture allegations.
Bahrain’s Shiite population has long complained of discrimination by the ruling Sunni Al-Khalifa family.
While tension pervaded Shiite villages, in Manama government supporters honked car horns and waved Bahraini flags to celebrate the 10th anniversary of a national charter introduced after unrest in the 1990s.
The cost of insuring Bahrain’s five-year sovereign debt widened by 10 basis points Monday, according to Markit, in a sign investors fear instability.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, trying to take the steam out of protests, has said he would give 1,000 dinars ($2,650) to each local family, and the government has indicated that it may free minors arrested under a security crackdown last year. – With AFP