King Hamad put on notice by oppostion, “get serious about national dialogue”, “free opposition leadership”

Bahrain opposition urges dialogue with regime
December 19, 2011 – alakhbar

Five Bahraini opposition groups have called on the government to engage in “serious” dialogue to end a political crisis that flared with pro-democracy protests earlier in the year.

The groups, led by the Shia al-Wefaq, urged the ruling monarchy to embark on political reforms after months of unrest in the tiny Gulf state.

The coalition of opposition groups said in a statement on Sunday it favored “opening a serious dialogue with the regime to exit the current political crisis that is inflicting heavy losses on the country and people.”

Following a meeting on Sunday, they said the dialogue should be focused on “implementing drastic and comprehensive political and constitutional reforms,” dismissing the outcome of a national dialogue called for by King Hamad which they said excluded the opposition.

“It is not acceptable to talk about the outcome of the so-called ‘national dialogue’ as a suitable foundation for the wanted reforms because it is void of any real constitutional and political reforms,” the statement said.

The groups include the Arab nationalist and leftist Waed party, whose Sunni leader Ibrahim Sharif remains in prison since the crackdown on protests and has been convicted along with other leading opponents of plotting to overthrow the regime.

The opposition groups also condemned the recent heavy-handed response to small protests breaking out in villages of the Shia majority.

“We strongly condemn the campaign of collective oppression and terrorism practiced by security forces against peaceful demonstrators,” the statement said.

Bahraini security forces on Sunday fired tear gas and used batons to disperse several hundred pro-democracy demonstrators who gathered outside the capital Manama for the fourth day in a row.

Youth groups had called for a series of protests on the Budaiya highway which links Shia villages with Manama’s former Pearl Square, the focal point of the month-long pro-democracy uprising crushed in March.

Protests have again flared in Bahrain after a Saudi-backed military intervention crushed pro-democracy demonstrations earlier in the year, killing at least 35 people and wounding hundreds more.

Bahrain then imposed a heavy crackdown on dissent, imprisoning hundreds who took part in the protests.

A government-commissioned investigation found Bahraini authorities used systematic torture on detained activists, although opposition groups have dismissed the report as impartial. …source