Protesters in Bahrain defy ban on rally and gather in central Manama

If the event were to be held on such a vital road ... it could hinder traffic, disturb security and affect the interests of the public Bahrain’s interior ministry explains why the rally was not granted a permit

MANAMA, BAHRAIN // Anti- government protesters converged on the headquarters of Bahrain’s main opposition party yesterday, defying a government ban on the gathering and pressing ahead with their campaign for greater political and civil rights for the nation’s Shiite Muslims.

The protest in front of Al Wefaq’s offices in Manama was a show of defiance by the party that has been the main backer of the Shiite majority’s 10- month- old protest movement. The government had rejected the party’s permit request for the demonstration, but thousands of protesters came anyway. They waved Bahraini flags and chanted anti-government slogans despite a massive security presence across the capital.

Opposition supporters poured into Manama from the villages that ring the capital. The villages have been the site of almost daily clashes between demonstrators and security forces since the government intensified a crackdown on dissent in March.

Shiites represent about 70 per cent of Bahrain’s population but are denied top political and security jobs.

In the past decade, Al Wefaq has led a campaign for greater rights for the Shiite majority. Shiite pro- testers took to the streets in February in numbers never seen before in the island nation.

A month later, the party’s 18 legislators resigned from parliament to protest the crackdown.

In July, the party walked out of government- designed reconciliation talks, claiming authorities had no intention of compromising with the opposition. The party also boycotted September elections for the vacated seats because of the detention of several of its officials. Al Wefaq has been staging weekly public gatherings in the past months, but it has usually refrained from doing so without a permit from authorities. In return, Al Wefaq’s applications are usually granted.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said Al Wefaq’s request to stage a gathering on one of Manama’s vital roads was not approved for security reasons. “If the event were to be held on such a vital road ... it could hinder traffic, disturb security and affect the interests of the public,” the ministry said in a statement that was posted on its website late Friday.

Riot police encircled the party’s headquarters and prevented protesters from marching to a motorway just east of the building.

The protest ended peacefully.