Bahrain police fire tear gas at protesters
2012-02-14 09:01
Manama - Security forces in Bahrain have fired tear gas and stun grenades at
protesters trying to occupy a landmark square in the nation's capital ahead of
the one-year anniversary of the Gulf kingdom's Shi'ite-led uprising.
On Monday, thousands of opposition supporters marched through Manama's
streets in the largest attempt in months to retake Pearl Square, the central
roundabout that served as the epicenter of weeks of protests last year by
Bahrain's Shi'ite majority against the ruling Sunni dynasty.
Thousands of riot police and other security forces have staked out positions
around the square and also across the Gulf island nation to prevent the
opposition from staging a mass rally in or near the plaza to mark Tuesday's
one-year anniversary of the revolt.
Opposition supporters were undeterred by the authorities' warnings of zero
tolerance for anti-government activities in the strategic island that is the
home of the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
"We will not back down," said Nader Abdulimam, who had taken
refuge in a house just outside of Manama with other protesters overcome by tear
gas. "This has gone on for one year and it will go for another year or
more."
Some protesters hurled firebombs and rocks after the security forces fired
tear gas. In an area about 10km west of central Manama, some demonstrators
stood atop Bahrain's ancient burial mounds - some more than 5 000 years old -
waving flags featuring the image of Pearl Square's six-pronged monument.
Monument razed
More than 50 police vehicles filled a site that protesters have dubbed
"Freedom Square", which hosted several government-sanctioned
opposition gatherings last week.
After the government imposed martial law last March in response to the
demonstrations, security forces stormed the protesters' encampment at the
landmark square in a bid to crush the uprising. The authorities then razed the
towering white monument that stood in the center of the plaza.
The now heavily guarded square holds great symbolic value for Bahrain's
opposition movement, and protesters have repeatedly tried to reoccupy it. But
authorities have effectively locked off the capital to demonstrations since
March.
Emergency rule was lifted in June, but street battles between security
forces and protesters still flare up almost every day in the predominantly Shi'ite
villages around the capital.
At least 40 people have been killed during months of unprecedented political
unrest in Bahrain, the Gulf country hardest hit by upheaval during last year's
Arab Spring protests.
Neighboring Saudi Arabia and other
Sunni-ruled Gulf states dispatched troops to Bahrain in March to help crush the
protests.
Reforms promised
Shi'ites account for about 70% of Bahrain's population of about 525 000
people, but say they have faced decades of discrimination and are blocked from
top political and security posts.
Bahrain's Sunni rulers have promised reforms, although they refused to make
the far-reaching changes the protesters and the main Shi'ite group, Al Wefaq, have
demanded. These include ending the monarchy's ability to select the government
and set key state policies.
US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland expressed concern over the
violence on Monday and said Washington wants to see demonstrators stage
peaceful protests and for security forces to "exercise restraint and
operate within the rule of law and international judicial standards".
In London, Amnesty International noted that Bahrain's leaders have taken
some steps toward easing tensions in the past year, including reinstating
hundreds of workers dismissed for protesting and ending military-run tribunals.
The group urged more measures to show that the steps were "more than a
public relations exercise".
Amnesty called for releasing prisoners held on protest-related offenses and
moving ahead with investigations into alleged abuses by security forces and
others.
- AP
