Bahrain Crown Prince Urges Dialogue with Opposition, Protests Continue

Local Editor

Thousands of Bahraini demonstrators in a village near the Bahraini capital on Friday demanded the premier's ouster in the first officially sanctioned protest since a ban at the end of October.

"Get out, Khalifa!" they chanted, referring to Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, an uncle of King Hamad, who was held the premiership of the Gulf kingdom since 1974.
In parallel, the head of the main opposition grouping al-Wefaq addressed the crowd by saying: "We don't want an appointed government, we want a prime minister who serves the people."
 
He said security is not the only guarantor of stability, and that "dialogue is the only way forward."
The gathering was the first to be officially allowed since the end of October when the authorities banned all protests.
Bahrain's opposition is demanding that the country's premier come from the parliamentary majority, and not be appointed from among the ranks of the ruling al-Khalifa family.

Moreover, Salman said the right to peaceful protest was guaranteed under international conventions, and demanded the reinstatement of the former Pearl Square, epicenter of protests but now razed and turned into a junction.
For his part, Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa called for a dialogue with the opposition.
"We had our own experience of the so-called Arab Spring last year. It divided the nation, and many wounds are still to be healed," the Prince told delegates Friday at the annual Manama Dialogue organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

But he said "opposition leaders must condemn violence on the streets. Silence is not an option," while insisting that "political groups must be reconciled."
The opposition is demanding that the premier come from the parliamentary majority, and not be appointed from among al-Khalifa ranks.
Hundreds of people were arrested when security forces aided by troops from neighboring Saudi Arabia continue to crush the protesters.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org