JNN 16 Feb 2011 Manama : Thousands of pro-democracy Shia Bahrainis have gathered in the capital Manama to protest the recent killing of two demonstrators by security forces. 

More than 10,000 people were taking part in the funeral procession for Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima when police opened fire without warning as they chanted slogans calling for a new constitution, a democratically elected government and an end to anti-Shia discrimination in the Sunni-ruled island kingdom.

“The scene is just unbelievable,” a witness told the Guardian. “There are thousands upon thousands on the road … there were definitely chants against the regime. The crowd was getting angrier and angrier. A lot of signs said they are peaceful, and this is what we get in return.”

The latest victim was named as Fadhel Matrook by an activist, Nabeel Rajab, of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. Matrook was allegedly shot by security forces using pellet guns at short range.

Some 2,000 protestors — demanding regime change in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom — spent the previous night in tents at the Pearl Roundabout in the heart of Manama.

Matrook was one of around 4,000 demonstrators who had attended a procession on Tuesday for another slain protester, 27 year-old Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima.

Mushaima was shot on Monday when police fired a barrage of tear gas and live bullets in the village of Daih — near the capital Manama — to suppress a pro-democracy protest. He later succumbed to his gunshot wounds in hospital.

Meanwhile, Bahraini lawmaker, Jassim al-Saeedi, has urged the government to use live ammunition against the protesters.

The Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), however, has expressed shock over the suggestion.

The political crisis deepened when Bahrain’s main Shia party, al-Wifaq, announced that it was withdrawing from parliament, where it has 18 of the 40 seats. “We decided to suspend our membership until further notice, after the aggressive attacks by the police on civilians demonstrating and carrying the kingdom’s flag and calling for political and constitutional reforms,” said leader Abdul-Jalil Khalil.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called on Bahraini authorities to order security forces to stop attacks on peaceful protesters and investigate the recent shooting deaths.

Bahrain’s king has also announced an investigation into the deaths of two Bahraini protesters killed in the recent tension, which has rocked the island nation.

The kingdom of Bahrain is a country of law and constitutional institutions. We have a law that organizes peaceful demonstrations that was decreed by an elected committee. The right to express one’s opinion is a right that is given by the constitution and has been organized by the law which we must all follow, Sheikh Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa, stated on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the situation in Bahrain appears to deteriorate. The US has expressed concern about the uprising in the kingdom. Washington, the prime sponsor of the despotic kingdoms in the Persian Gulf, has called on all sides to practice restraint.

The demonstrators say the ruling Sunni minority shuts them out of housing, healthcare and government jobs.

TOP BAHRAINI SHIA CLERIC  :

Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qasim severely condemned the governments discrimination against public which resulted grassroots of people and said: government should release innocent prisoners, eliminates corruption and do some other important things which any delay will lead to more irreparable losses .He also pointed to the demands of people and said: government should satisfy the legitimate right of people.

Clashes between opposition protesters and security forces spilled into Tuesday, with the government confirming a third death in skirmishes that have flared since late Sunday.

Wahabi Saudi Rulers Also Active in Bahrain’s Crisis

“Customs officials of King Fahad Bridge are deporting ordinary travelers in order to speed up the transportation of Saudi armed troops to Bahrain.” Saudi travelers and eye witnesses said.

In the other hand, Badr Al Atishan head security chief of King Fahad Bridge in an exclusive with Illah newspaper, refused the claims and described the traffic as quite normal.

He said “the target of spreading such rumors is only to drag the country into chaos”. However, witnesses still remain firm on their remarks and insist on to be deported by customs officials.

Moreover, released photos of the event confirm the mass presence of Saudi troops on the King Fahad Bridge

More than a dozen army tanks and several military ambulances and trucks have been seen in a main highway in the Bahraini capital, Manama, as pro-democracy protests enter their sixth day.

The demonstrators are demanding a new constitution that would move the country toward democracy and limit the king’s powers. 

Bahrain is ruled by a royal family, who are blamed for discrimination against the country’s Shia population — comprising 70 percent of the population. 

Protesters have called on the Bahraini to fire his uncle, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has been the country

‘s prime minister since 1971. 

Bahrain is home to the US military’s Fifth Fleet.