DUBAI: Bahrain’s main Shia opposition group Al Wefaq has warned of fresh protests across the Sunni-ruled kingdom unless a national dialogue with the regime leads to real reforms, namely a constitutional monarchy.
“A peaceful revolution for reforms is our choice,”
Al Wefaq chief Sheikh Ali Salman told a party congress late on Thursday in the village of Saar near Manama, according to a statement received yesterday by AFP. “The people will continue to struggle for their demands no matter what the challenges, obstacles or the price to pay, in order to achieve their legitimate right” to see a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain, Salman said in the statement.
Al Wefaq entered a national dialogue with the government last month aimed at resolving the political deadlock in the Shia-majority kingdom, but the talks have been dogged by disagreement between the
two sides.
Bahrain has witnessed two years of political upheaval linked to opposition demands for a real constitutional monarchy, with the unrest claiming at least 80 lives, according to international rights groups.
The talks — launched on February 10 just four days before Bahrain marked the second anniversary of the February 14, 2011 uprising — are being held twice a week between representatives of the government and the opposition.
Salman dismissed the importance of the talks held so far, saying the sessions were merely a “preparation for” real dialogue with the government. AFP
