Hundreds of demonstrators are gathered at the Pearl roundabout in Manama as their protest and ruling royal family entered its ninth day
Hundreds of demonstrators are gathered at the Pearl roundabout in Manama, Bahrain's capital, as their protest against the government and ruling royal family entered its ninth day.
The protesters have called a massive demonstration for Tuesday in the hope that tens of thousands of people will converge on Pearl Square and those already there have vowed not to leave until their demands are met.
Bahrain's opposition wants the nation's rulers to guarantee they will back up recent conciliatory words with solid actions, as the regime offered talks after nearly a week of protests and deadly clashes that have divided the Gulf nation.
Opposition leaders have laid down a list of demands that include releasing prisoners and giving residents a greater role in politics.
The streets in the tiny but strategically important island kingdom were calmer Sunday as efforts shifted toward political haggling over demands the monarchy give up its near-absolute control over key policies and positions.
But bitterness and tensions still run deep after seesaw battles that saw riot police opening fire on protesters trying to reclaim landmark Pearl Square and then pulling back to allow them to occupy it. At least seven people have been martyred and hundreds injured since the Arab wave for change reached the Gulf last Monday.
On Friday, army units shot at marchers streaming towards the roundabout, injuring more than 50 people and preventing protesters from gathering there. But after security forces withdrew, the protesters swarmed back to the square and confidently set up camp for a protracted stay.
On Sunday, a general strike by opposition groups and workers' unions was called off, saying their demand for the right to protest peacefully had been heeded.
In an interview to CNN, Sheikh Salman said on Sunday that protesters would "absolutely" be allowed to stay in the Pearl Roundabout area. "All political parties in the country deserve a voice at the table," he said of the proposed dialogue, adding the king had appointed him to lead it and to build trust with all sides.
"I think there is a lot of anger, a lot of sadness, and on that note I would like to extend my condolences to all of the families who lost loved ones and all of those who have been injured."We are terribly sorry and this is a terrible tragedy for our nation."
"Yesterday you kill people and today you want them to sit with you. It's not that easy," said a leader of the main opposition group Al Wefaq, Abdul-Jalil Khalil. He said no talks have taken place yet. Khalil said the opposition's main demand is for the resignation of the government that is responsible for this week's bloodshed and has been led by the same prime minister — the king's uncle — for 40 years. "We are not refusing a dialogue with the crown prince, but we need guarantees they will back words with action," Khalil said.
No violence was reported Sunday, but many parts of the country were paralyzed by a general strike that was called by the workers' unions — and suspended by day's end.
"The strike has been suspended and not called off because our preliminary demands of removing the tanks and police (off the streets) and allowing us to protest peacefully were fulfilled," Salman Mahfoudh, head of the Workers Trade Union, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
"There seems to be a real move toward dialogue. If we find that this is reversed or if we are attacked again, we will go back to striking," Mahfoudh said.
At the Sanabis Intermediate Girls School, about 10 women teachers sat outside the empty school yard in a sign of support for the strike.
