Getting Americans out of Japan
Bahrain Sunni minority out in force behind royal family
Sensing the danger of a possible regime-change that could
bring the Shiite opposition to power, Bahraini Sunnis turned
out in thousands at a Manama mosque to pledge allegiance to
the Al-Khalifa dynasty.
Sunni Islamist groups, including the local chapter of the
Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists, closed ranks at the Al-Fateh
mosque meeting held on Monday night.
Some five kilometres (three miles) away, at Pearl Square in
the centre of the capital, huge crowds were camping out ahead
of a rally called on Tuesday by the Shiite-led opposition to
demand political reforms in the Gulf kingdom.
"What do you exactly want now that you have raised the slogan
of overthrowing the regime?" Sheikh Abdullatif al-Sheikh, the
head of the National Islamic Tribune Association, a local
Muslim Brotherhood group, asked the Pearl Square protesters in
an address from the podium.
"Do you want to have in our country the rule of vilayat al-Fakih
(the supreme religious leader)," of Iran, he asked bluntly.
The Shiite majority strongly rejects frequent claims by their
Sunni compatriots that they are aligned with Iran, stressing
the community's national affiliation to Bahrain.
The crowds at the mosque, waving red-and-white Bahraini flags
and carrying posters of King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa,
chanted "long live the king" and "with souls, with blood, we
will protect our homeland."
Bahraini state television put the number of the pro-regime
Sunni demonstrators at 300,000 in the tiny Gulf monarchy where
the entire population of Bahrainis is estimated at 600,000 --
60 percent of them Shiites.
The numbers could not be independently verified.
Sunni demonstrations are rare in the Gulf archipelago, where
Shiites have a tradition of struggle against the government
which they accuse of sectarian discrimination.
Although Sunni opposition groups are taking part in the
protest against the government, the demonstrations that turned
bloody when police opened fire on a number of occasions last
week are mostly Shiite.
The Shiite opposition, which quit parliament in protest at the
killing of demonstrators, said it wants a "real"
constitutional monarchy and a peaceful alternation of power.
As a precondition to a national dialogue initiative launched
by the crown prince, they want the government to quit, holding
it responsible for the killing of seven demonstrators and
wounding hundreds last week.
Protesters at the Pearl Square have made clear their demands
in their constant chanting, "We want the fall of the regime."
Al-Sheikh slammed their demands.
"What do you want by asking for peaceful alternation of power?
It is a nice term used to demand something vicious," he
charged. "You want the rule of the majority party... meaning a
sectarian system.
"The Bahraini community cannot bear that, because it would
perpetuate sectarianism," he added.
The National Unity Assembly, a group formed this week by
mainly Sunni clerics and dignitaries who are not part of
existing political associations, made it clear in a statement
read at the Sunni gathering that the regime has to stay.
"We stress the legitimacy of the current regime," said sheikh
Abdullatif al-Mahmud, speaking on behalf of the NUA, in
comments met by a large wave of applause.
Mahmud went on to urge King Hamad to release political
prisoners, who are mostly Shiites, a call that the king
answered swiftly late in the evening "in appreciation" to the
NUA, the state news agency said.
The crowds at Al-Fateh mosque went into a state of mania when
organisers told them on a megaphone that a helicopter hovering
at a low altitude and flashing its floodlights had King Hamad
on board.
"Long live Abu Salman," they chanted using an endearing name
for the king.
But the Sunni groups also demanded reforms in the kingdom that
is known as a being a watering hole for strict Saudi Arabia,
just across a bridge.
"We want the leadership to curb (serving) alcohol and
prostitution," Mahmud said.
Sunni and Shiites Islamist MPs had last year agreed in
parliament on a proposed law to ban alcohol in Bahrain, but
the proposal was shot down by the all-appointed upper chamber.
Speakers also demanded jobs, housing and an end to corruption
in the kingdom that has dwindling oil resources and was once
an unchallenged financial centre in the Gulf.
"We are with the regime... But we just want reform," said MP
Ghaleb Abu al-Einen.
Organisers announced another rally on Wednesday.
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