Thousands of Bahrainis bury activist martyred in crackdown, challenge ban on demonstrations

Shouting "down with King Hamad," thousands of Bahrainis buried an activist martyred in a crackdown on protesters that has raised tension in the world's largest oil-exporting region.

Mourners carrying pictures of activist Ahmed Farhan, martyred on Wednesday, followed a car carrying his flag-covered coffin. A helicopter buzzed overhead and tanks lined the entrance to Sitra, where Farhan was buried.

"This is a big loss... They can say what they want about us but we are non-violent. We will never use violence," said Yousif Hasan Ali, who was in jail with Farhan, 30, for over two years. "They may silence this generation but another will rise up to demand revenge for the blood that was shed now."

Bahraini authorities have arrested seven opposition leaders and driven pro-democracy demonstrators from the streets after weeks of protests that prompted the king to declare martial law and sucked in troops from Saudi Arabia.

THEY WILL NEVER BREAK OUR SOULS
Sheikh Issa Qassim, Bahrain's most influential cleric, said in his Friday sermon that Gulf troops would have been better off helping Palestinians in Gaza than entering Bahrain and thanked those who died or resigned in the uprising.

"The violence of the authorities has created a deep, wide and dangerous wound between the government and people," he said. "The government wants to break our will so we give up our calls for substantial and meaningful reforms, but they will never break our will. They can use tanks and planes to smash our bodies but will never break our souls and our will for reforms."

No troops or police could be seen as thousands of worshippers stood outside Draz mosque after Qassim's sermon, calling for Gulf troops to leave and vowing to fight what they called this "corrupt and oppressive regime."

"Peninsula Shield Out," they called, and "Bahrain is free."

BAHRAIN RAZES PEARL SQUARE TO GROUND
Meanwhile, authorities have reportedly razed to the ground Manama's Pearl Square, which is considered the epicenter of anti-government protests in the country.

The iconic central structure was brought down two days after Bahraini and Saudi forces, backed by tanks and helicopters, cleared the land mark square where anti-government protesters had been camped for several weeks.

Pearl square consisted of six dhows (sails) projecting up toward the sky and holding up a pearl. The dhows represent the six Persian Gulf littoral sates of Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman.

The pearl represents the joint heritage of these countries, whose economies were based on pearl diving before the discovery of oil.