Shiite’s say No to Dialogue under ongoing brutal crackdown

Bahrain Shiite cleric says no dialogue with Gulf nation’s Sunni rulers under crackdown climate
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, June 10, 9:16 AM

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric said Friday there is no chance for talks with the Gulf nation’s Sunni rulers while security forces maintain their clampdown on protesters calling for equal rights and political freedoms.

The sermon by Sheik Isa Qassim underscored the deep discontent among Bahrain’s Shiite majority despite the lifting of martial law-style rules earlier this month and appeals for dialogue by the Sunni monarchy. It also marked another blow to the ruling establishment after organizers of Bahrain’s prestigious Formula One race called off efforts to reschedule the 2011 event, which was canceled in March amid the unrest..

“We cannot negotiate in such conditions,” Sheik Qassim told worshippers in a mostly Shiite area outside the capital, Manama.

Sheik Qassim, who was joined by other Shiite clerics in a display of solidarity, denounced what he called “daily security harassment” in the form of checkpoints, arrest sweeps and other measures imposed to quell the protests that broke out in February.

He said the pressures were “building hatred among the people.”

Shiites represent about 70 percent of the population in the strategic island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. But Shiites have long complained of discrimination at the hands of the ruling Sunni dynasty.

The internal battles also have become a showcase of Arab fears over widening influence by Shiite power Iran.

Sunni Gulf leaders, especially in nearby Saudi Arabia, have strongly rallied behind Bahrain’s monarchy, which has accused Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Shiite groups of aiding the protests. …more