Bahrainis to Hold Nationwide Strike

Local Editor

Bahrainis will hold a nationwide strike on Thursday to mark the third anniversary of their uprising against the ruling al-Khalifa regime.

The call for strike was made by Bahrain's main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, that also urged a mass rally on Saturday to commemorate the February 14 uprising against the Saudi-backed monarchy.
A youth coalition has also urged people to spill out onto the streets on Friday and try to reach the iconic site of the protests which used to be called Pearl Square.

The Gulf state is deeply divided, with persistent protests on the outskirts of the capital Manama that ignite clashes with police.
Al-Wefaq also called for a rally Saturday to commemorate the February 14 uprising, which was inspired by the pro-democracy revolts that swept the Arab world in early 2011.

The clandestine February 14 youth coalition has called on protesters on Friday to try to reach Pearl Square, where demonstrators camped for a month before being violently driven out by security forces in March 2011.
The roundabout and its central monument, which became a symbol of the uprising, were later razed and the site remains heavily restricted.

More than 90 people have been martyred since the protests began, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.
Two rounds of national reconciliation talks have so far failed to bring the two sides anywhere near common ground on the future of the tiny but strategic Gulf archipelago.

The opposition reiterated that the monarchy, which continues its crackdown against the uprising with the aid of a Saudi-led Gulf intervention force, has little interest in sharing power.

"The dialogue has failed because of the lack of a real will by the regime to find a political solution," the opposition chief said.
The Wefaq-led opposition responded to the latest call for dialogue with a roadmap reiterating its demands for "a parliament with full legislative powers" and an "elected government" as well as the release of political prisoners.

Human Rights Watch accused Bahraini authorities last month of "seriously" undermining prospects for a political solution, citing an increase in "restrictions on the exercise of core human rights like freedom of speech, assembly and association."
"Official talk of reform is a joke at the time when peaceful critics of the government are labelled terrorists and kept in jail," said the group's deputy Middle East director Joe Stork.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team