Bahrain king offers condolences

Manama: Bahrain paid an emotional tribute to the seven men who fell during the protests launched more than 10 days ago to ask for more political rights and constitutional amendments.

A long carpet of traditional black abayas and white thobes covered central Manama in the afternoon and evening as thousands of men and women took to the streets and converged towards the Pearl Roundabout, the epicentre of the protests.

The Royal Court on Thursday said that Friday would be an official Mourning Day to mark the death of the seven Bahraini men.

King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa had extended his condolences to the families of the victims while Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa who was tasked by the king to conduct a national dialogue with all parties to find a way out of the crisis now hitting the country has also publicly expressed sorrow over the loss of lives.

At the Pearl Roundabout, Shiite religious leaders addressed the masses under a massive Bahraini flag and insisted that the national dialogue must result in clear reforms and political changes.

Prince Salman in his offer last week to start a nationwide dialogue said that he was after genuine reforms and insisted that all issues were up for discussion and that all parties and groups were welcome to sit in.

As a gesture of goodwill, he ordered all armoured vehicles off the streets and the interior ministry on Wednesday said that it freed 308 detainees, including the 23 suspects held under charges of forming and belonging to a network plotting to undermine Bahrain's stability and security.

Several intellectuals have called on all parties to seize the offer and proceed to hold a meaningful dialogue for the sake of the nation while on Saturday the powerful business community started pushing for the dialogue, explaining that the economy could be harmed by the current standoff.