Thousands of Protesters in Bahrain Call for PM's Resignation
- 13 years ago
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Protestors in Bahrain, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt are gathering at the pearl roundabout. Their protest was triggered by the killing of two protestors; their chant - "The people demand the fall of the regime!." Here's more.
Thousands of Shi'ite protesters marched into the capital of Bahrain on Tuesday after a man was killed in clashes between police and mourners at a funeral for a demonstrator shot dead at an earlier anti-government rally.
The death, a day after Monday's "Day of Rage" protests, led to further clashes between Bahrain's majority Shi'ite Muslims and the Sunni security forces backed by the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty.
Bahrain's main Shi'ite opposition bloc Wefaq, accuses rulers of discriminating and neglecting Shi'ites, they responded to the violence by boycotting parliament.
Enraged mourners chanted anti-government slogans inspired by protests that toppled the rulers of Egypt and Tunisia.
"The people demand the fall of the regime!" they said, as thousands poured into Pearl Roundabout in Manama's city centre.
Protesters said their principal demand was the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa who has governed the country since its independence in 1971.
The Prime Minister is an uncle of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa who is seen as a symbol of the wealth of the ruling family.
Protesters are also demanding the release of political prisoners and the creation of a new constitution.
Poverty, high unemployment and attempts by the government to grant Sunnis from outside the country citizenship in order to change the demographic balance, lie at the heart of deep-seated discontent among Bahrain's Shi'ites.
Around half of the country's 1.3 million people are Bahraini, with the rest being foreign workers.
The majority of citizens are Shi'ite.
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Protestors in Bahrain, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt are gathering at the pearl roundabout. Their protest was triggered by the killing of two protestors; their chant - "The people demand the fall of the regime!." Here's more.
Thousands of Shi'ite protesters marched into the capital of Bahrain on Tuesday after a man was killed in clashes between police and mourners at a funeral for a demonstrator shot dead at an earlier anti-government rally.
The death, a day after Monday's "Day of Rage" protests, led to further clashes between Bahrain's majority Shi'ite Muslims and the Sunni security forces backed by the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty.
Bahrain's main Shi'ite opposition bloc Wefaq, accuses rulers of discriminating and neglecting Shi'ites, they responded to the violence by boycotting parliament.
Enraged mourners chanted anti-government slogans inspired by protests that toppled the rulers of Egypt and Tunisia.
"The people demand the fall of the regime!" they said, as thousands poured into Pearl Roundabout in Manama's city centre.
Protesters said their principal demand was the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa who has governed the country since its independence in 1971.
The Prime Minister is an uncle of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa who is seen as a symbol of the wealth of the ruling family.
Protesters are also demanding the release of political prisoners and the creation of a new constitution.
Poverty, high unemployment and attempts by the government to grant Sunnis from outside the country citizenship in order to change the demographic balance, lie at the heart of deep-seated discontent among Bahrain's Shi'ites.
Around half of the country's 1.3 million people are Bahraini, with the rest being foreign workers.
The majority of citizens are Shi'ite.