Deutsche Welle, 15 February 2014
Thousands
of people have marched in Bahrain to mark the third anniversary of a
pro-democracy uprising that was put down by authorities. The country remains in
the grip of sectarian tensions.
Saturday's
rally saw crowds of men, women and children taking to streets in and near the
capital, Manama, to call for more democracy. The demonstration was called by
the kingdom's main opposition movement, the Shiite al-Wefaq.
It was one
of the largest protests staged since 2011, when pro-democracy demonstrations
began on February 14, inspired by Arab Spring uprisings elsewhere.
Some media
reports say clashes between protesters and police broke out after the
demonstrators had marched several kilometers (miles), with police firing tear gas into the crowd.
The
protesters called for democracy, political reform and the release of political
prisoners.
Sectarian
conflict
The protest
highlights sectarian tensions that continue to beset the Gulf-island nation
since the 2011 uprising, with the country's majority Shiites demanding greater
political rights from the Sunni-led monarchy. Activists and police have clashed
frequently in recent times, and anti-government factions have increasingly been
using small-scale bombs to attack government forces.
The
demonstration on Saturday came as the Interior Ministry announced that one of
two police officers hurt in a bombing on Friday had died of his injuries. In a
statement, it described the explosion in the village of Dair, near the
country's main airport, as a "terrorist blast."
Twenty-six
people were reportedly arrested in unrest on Friday, the exact anniversary of
the start of the 2011 protests.
Uprising
put down in 2011
Bahrain put
down the uprising in 2011 with the help of neighboring Sunni-ruled gulf
countries with smaller Shiite populations, led by Saudi Arabia.
More than
65 people died in the unrest, with rights groups putting the death toll higher.
The ruling
family has launched a third round of dialogue with its opponents, but so far
talks have failed to produce political agreement.
tj/ipj (Reuters, AP)
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