Manama, February 17: Riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets stormed a landmark square occupied by anti-government protesters on Thursday, driving out demonstrators and destroying a makeshift encampment that had become 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, which was littered with flattened tents, trampled banners and broken glass. There was no official word on deaths or injuries.
After police regained control of the plaza, they chased protesters through sidestreets and put a ring of vehicles around the area with blue lights flashing in the darkened city just as the dawn call for prayers rang out.
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 on Wednesday as tens of thousands of protesters crowded into the seaside square, dominated by a 300-foot (90-feet) monument to Bahrain’s history as a pearl diving centre.
After the crackdown early Thursday, protesters who were camped in the square 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 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!”
The Egypt-inspired protests began on Monday 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 Shi’ites, 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 are calling 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 Shi’ites, who account for 70 percent 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 are also chanting slogans to wipe away the entire ruling dynasty that has led Bahrain for more than 200 years and is firmly backed by the Sunni sheiks and monarchs across the Gulf.
Although Bahrain is sandwiched between two of OPEC’s 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 on Wednesday also were abuzz with calls to press ahead with the protests. They were matched by insults from presumed government backers calling the demonstrators traitors and agents of Shi’ite powerhouse Iran. Some pointed out that Iranian hard-liners have called Bahrain the Islamic Republic’s “14th province” because of its Shi’ite links.
The protest movement’s next move is unclear, but the island nation has been rocked by street battles as recently as last summer. A wave of arrests of perceived Shi’ite dissidents touched off weeks of rioting and demonstrations.
Before the attack on the square, protesters had called for major rallies after Friday prayers. The reported deaths, however, could become a fresh rallying point. Thousands of mourners turned out for the funeral processions of two other people killed in the protests earlier in the week.
Mahmoud Mansouri, whose pants were torn in the mayhem, said police surrounded the camp and then quickly moved in.
“We yelled, “We are peaceful! Peaceful! The women and children were attacked just like the rest of us,” he said. “They moved in as soon as the media left us. They knew what they’re doing.”
The country’s rulers, meanwhile, had scheduled an emergency Parliament session for later Thursday. But it may only serve to highlight the country’s divisions and reinforce its image as the most politically volatile in the Gulf.
The main Shi’ite opposition bloc, with 18 of the 40 seats, has said it will not return to the chamber until the protest demands are met.
—Agencies