Riot police storm Bahrain camp
Bahrain riot police firing tear gas and wielding clubs stormed a landmark square occupied by anti-government protesters early today, driving out demonstrators and destroying the makeshift encampment that became the hub for demands to bring sweeping political changes to the kingdom.
The main opposition group Al Wefaq said at least two people were killed in the pre-dawn assault on Pearl Square in the capital Manama, which was littered with flattened tents, trampled banners and broken glass.
There was no official word on deaths or injuries, but hospitals reported dozens of people with wounds and respiratory problems from the tear gas.
Hours after police retook control of the plaza, the tiny island nation was in lockdown mode. Police checkpoints were set up along main roadways and armed patrols moved through neighbourhoods in an apparent attempt to thwart any mass gatherings.
Barbed wire was put up around Pearl Square and a message from the Interior Ministry declared the protest camp “illegal”. The air still carried the smell of tear gas more than four hours after the assault.
The blow by authorities marked a dramatic shift in tactics. It appeared Bahrain’s leaders had sought to rein in security forces after clashes on Monday that left at least two people dead and brought sharp criticism from Western allies including the US, which operates its main naval base in the Gulf from Bahrain.
Police held back yesterday as tens of thousands of protesters crowded into the seaside square, dominated by a 300ft monument to Bahrain’s history as a pearl diving centre.
After today’s crackdown, protesters who were camped in the square overnight described police swarming in through a cloud of eye-stinging tear gas.
“They attacked our tents, beating us with batons,” said Jafar Jafar, 17. “The police were lined up at the bridge overhead. They were shooting tear gas from the bridge.”
Hussein Abbas, 22, was woken by a missed call on his mobile phone from his wife, presumably trying to warn him about reports that police were preparing to move in.
“Then all of a sudden the square was filled with tear gas clouds. Our women were screaming. ... What kind of ruler does this to his people? There were women and children with us,” he said.
One man said he pretended to be unconscious to avoid further beatings from police.
ABC News said its correspondent, Miguel Marquez, was caught in the crowd and beaten by men with billy clubs, although he was not badly injured.
The Egypt-inspired protests began as a cry for the country’s Sunni monarchy to loosen its grip, including hand-picking most top government posts and open more opportunities for the country’s majority Shiites, who have long complained of being blocked from decision-making roles or key posts in the military.
But the uprising’s demands have steadily grown bolder. Many protesters called for the government to provide more jobs and better housing, free all political detainees and abolish a system that offers Bahraini citizenship to Sunnis from around the Middle East as a way to close the population gap with Shiites, who account for 70% of the population.
Many of the newly-minted nationals get jobs in security forces to further cement the number of presumed loyalists protecting the ruling system.
Increasingly, protesters also chanted slogans to wipe away the entire ruling dynasty that has led Bahrain for more than 200 years and is firmly backed by the Sunni sheikhs and monarchs across the Gulf.
Although Bahrain is sandwiched between OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it has limited oil resources and depends heavily on its role as a regional financial hub and playground for Saudis, who can drive over a causeway to enjoy Bahrain’s Western-style bars, hotels and beaches.
Social networking websites had been abuzz yesterday with calls to press ahead with the protests. They were matched by insults from presumed government backers who called the demonstrators traitors and agents of Shiite powerhouse Iran.
Some pointed out that Iranian hardliners have called Bahrain the Islamic republic’s “14th province” because of its Shiite links.
The country’s rulers scheduled an emergency parliament session for today, but the main Shiite opposition bloc, with 18 of the 40 seats, has said it will not return to the chamber until the protest demands are met.
The occupation in Pearl Square, which began on Tuesday, had become the nerve centre of the first anti-government protests to reach the Arab Gulf since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
Across the city, government supporters in a caravan of cars waved national flags and displayed portraits of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The bloodshed has brought embarrassing rebukes from allies such as Britain and the US. A statement from Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said suspects have been “placed in custody” in connection with the two protester deaths from earlier in the week, but gave no further details.
