Bahrain opposition MPs officially announce resignation from parliament as revolution continues

The Bahraini revolution against the current government continued on Sunday as lawmakers from the largest parliamentary bloc officially resigned from the parliament.

According to press reports, eighteen members of the opposition faction of al-Wefaq officially resigned from the parliament and declared that they were no longer affiliate with the Parliament, which did not lift a finger in front of the massacres that lately took place in Bahrain.

At least seven demonstrators have been martyred during clashes with security forces since the beginning of the popular protests on February 14.

King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa had tasked Crown Prince of Bahrain Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to hold talks with the opposition.  The protesters, however, rejected the offer with Sheikh Muhammad Ali Mahfouz, head of the opposition Islamic Action Society telling Press TV that “if dialogue is to happen, then it should include all opposition parties in addition to other factions on the ground.” He said such talks had to include "the popular youth movement, which are out there in Pearl Square," referring respectively to the protesters and the epicenter for the uprising in the capital, Manama, which some have started to call 'Martyrs Roundabout' in commemoration of the victims.

Meanwhile, Bahraini opposition prominent figure Sheikh Hassan Mushaimaa said he would accept a Western-style constitutional monarchy in the Gulf Arab kingdom if protesters supported the measure.
 
Mushaimaa, leader of the Haq movement which has in the past questioned the legitimacy of the king, also did not rule out the royal family's removal. "If it is a real monarchy as we know it in England, the royal family are honorary but do not control government, OK," he told a news conference, adding that no member of the al-Khalifa should be in government. "If all the people, and especially the people on Pearl Square agree on this (then that is good) ... that's why the Haq movement and me did not fix demands, we are talking about the demands of the people."

Mushaimaa returned to Bahrain on Saturday after being pardoned by the king along with 24 other opposition activists accused of attempting to topple the government using violence.

Mushaimaa said he was interested in talks with other opposition groups such as Wefaq but did not give any details on possible common demands.

Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Manama on Friday, declared a day of mourning by the government, in one of the biggest demonstrations since a "Day of Rage" on February 14. Security forces did not intervene.