Protesters' deaths fuel anger in Bahrain streets

[Guest guest]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110216/wl_nm/us_bahrain

Protesters' deaths fuel anger in Bahrain streets

By ston and Frederik Richter ston And

Frederik Richter – 23 mins ago

MANAMA (Reuters) – Protesters in Bahrain, emboldened by revolts that have

toppled Arab rulers in Tunisia and Egypt, poured into the center of the capital

Wednesday to mourn a demonstrator killed in clashes with security forces.

A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 people joined a winding Shi'ite funeral

procession for the man, shot dead Tuesday when fighting broke out at the burial

of another protester.

Around 2,000 others were camped out at a junction in the center of the Gulf

island kingdom's capital, hoping to emulate the rallies on Cairo's Tahrir

Square. They demanded a change of government in Bahrain, where a Sunni family

rules over a Shi'ite majority.

The protests, in their third day, are some of the most serious since widespread

Shi'ite unrest in the 1990s, and appear to be driven by familiar complaints of

economic hardship, lack of political freedom and sectarian discrimination.

" The people demand the fall of the regime! " protesters chanted as men pounded

their chests in rhythm, a mourning gesture which is distinctive to the Shi'ite

branch of Islam.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has expressed condolences to relatives of the two

dead men, and said a committee would investigate. The Interior Ministry has

promised legal action if it finds police used unjustified force.

The Foreign Ministry said those suspected of blame for the deaths of the two

protesters had been arrested, " steps which make clear that the Kingdom of

Bahrain does not condone the use of excessive force at any time. "

Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa " noted that the protests could

happen in any free, democratic country, " his ministry said in a statement.

In the Sunni town of Riffa, home to many members of the ruling family, at least

1,000 pro-government demonstrators waved flags and held pictures of King Hamad

in a show of support.

Though itself only a minor oil exporter, Bahrain's stability is important for

neighboring Saudi Arabia, where oilfields are located in an area populated by an

oppressed Shi'ite minority.

Bahrain is also a hub for banking and financial services in the Gulf and home to

the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

PRIME MINISTER SINCE 1971

Protesters, their tone hardened by the deaths of the two Shi'ite men within 24

hours, want the removal of the prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman

al-Khalifa, who has governed since British rule ended in 1971.

For now, they have not sought change at the very top -- his nephew King Hamad

bin Isa al-Khalifa has ultimate control over the 1.3 million people in Bahrain,

half of them foreigners.

" We are requesting our rights in a peaceful way, " said Bakr Akil, a 20 year-old

student. He wore a sheet stained with red ink he said showed his willingness to

sacrifice for freedom.

Women dressed in black abaya cloaks followed the procession with their own

chants calling for peace and Bahraini unity.

Mourners tossed stems of sweet-smelling basil onto the car ferrying the

cotton-wrapped body, draped in a green Islamic banner, through winding alleyways

toward a small cemetery for burial. Black flags of mourning flew.

Bahrain's Shi'ites, whose branch of Islam is found mostly across Gulf waters in

Iran and among Arabs in Iraq and Lebanon, complain they are shut out of public

housing, healthcare and government jobs and also that their rulers have tried to

shift the demographic balance by making Sunni immigrants citizens.

A Bahraini central bank official said the protests would not affect the

country's economy or financial sector.

But in a measure of investors' concerns, the cost of insuring Bahraini debt

against the government defaulting rose to its highest level since August 2009,

with 5-year credit default swaps up 13 percent in the past two days.

Bahrain's main stock index was flat, while in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which is

connected to Bahrain via a causeway, the main share index fell 1.8 percent to a

two-week low.

Near the protest site at Manama's Pearl Roundabout, police kept their distance,

massing on a nearby dirt lot in dozens of cars. The Interior Ministry said roads

were all open on the island, which at 750 square kilometres (290 sq mile) is

about the size of Singapore.

The main Shi'ite opposition group Wefaq, which boycotted parliament in protest

at the clampdown by the security forces, said it would hold talks with the

government Wednesday. It will demand direct election of the prime minister, said

Ibrahim Mattar, a Wefaq parliamentarian at the funeral procession.

" We support the people here. We are not the decision makers. The people are the

decision makers. "

Bahrain was considered the most vulnerable among Gulf Arab states to popular

unrest in a region where, in an unwritten pact, rulers have traded a share of

their oil wealth for political submission. Discontent has been expressed in

sporadic unrest since the mid-1990s, well before popular uprisings in Tunisia

and Egypt emboldened activists across the region.

Activists also want the release of political prisoners, which the government has

promised, and a new constitution.

An upset in Bahrain could embolden marginalised Shi'ites in Saudi Arabia, the

world's biggest oil exporter. The United States has called for restraint on both

sides.

" The United States is very concerned by recent violence surrounding protests in

Bahrain, " State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a statement. " We also

call on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from violence. "

(Writing by son; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Graff)