This weekend in Bahrain:
Thousands of security forces have been deployed around Manama in preparation for anti-government demonstrations on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in Freedom Square (located in Miqsha, outside Manama) and near Pearl Square, where protests are banned. Activists say several security checkpoints were set up around Manama on Sunday. [AP/ AFP]
“I regret the events of last year. In a sense there is no ‘opposition’ in Bahrain, as the phrase implies one unified block with the same views. Such a phrase is not in our constitution, unlike say the United Kingdom. We only have people with different views and that’s ok.” - Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, in an interview with Spiegel Online (h/t theamericanbear). King Hamad also called on Syria’s President Bashar Assad to listen to Syrian citizens, saying, “The best advice for him is from the Syrian people.” The full interview will be available Monday. [Spiegel]
“It’s just a case of manners. But when they shout ‘Down with the king and up with Khamenei’ that’s a problem for national unity.” - Bahrain’s King Hamad, in that same interview with Spiegel Online, according to Reuters. King Hamad referred to protesters’ “Down with Hamad” chants as “bad manners” and attempted to highlight a threat from Iran as a key concern. King Hamad also claimed the government’s strict emergency law is meant to protect women: “Also our women were very scared and it is the duty of a gentleman to protect women, so I had to protect them.” [Reuters/ Chicago Tribune]
Two American rights activists were expelled from Bahrain on Saturday after protesting in Manama, according to the Bahraini government. Both women are members of the group Witness Bahrain, which advocates for democracy in the island nation. A statement from the rights group said they were participating in a peaceful demonstration and were “dragged away by numerous security forces after sitting on the ground.” [Reuters]
During a pro-government rally in Bahrain, demonstrators who support the regime blamed Iran for the sectarian divide and the ongoing anti-government protests. One of the speakers at the rally also claimed the main opposition party al-Wefaq is the “voice of Iran,” according to the BBC’s Bill Law, who is in Bahrain. [BBC]
[Photos: Riot police come under fire from Molotov cocktails as they chase anti-government protesters in Sanabis, Bahrain on Sunday; An anti-government protester is treated Sunday in a house in Sanabis for birdshot pellet wounds sustained after protesters clashed by riot police. Credit: Hasan Jamali/ AP]