Protesters occupying a central square in Bahrain's capital Manama are calling for a third day for sweeping political reforms. Thousands of demonstrators spent the night in a makeshift tent city in the city's Pearl Square. Some broke away early Wednesday to join a funeral procession for a man shot dead during clashes with riot police a day earlier.
The crowds mainly from the Shiite majority demand major political changes, including breaking the monarchy's grip on appointing top government posts. For his part, Sheikh Ali Salman, the Shiite leader of the parliamentary opposition bloc (consisting of 18 deputies), stressed it would not go back on its decision to suspend its particiaption in the parliament before the transition to "constitutional monarchy" in Bahrain with an elected government by the people.
He distanced himself from calls to "overthrow the regime" as a whole and announced a demonstration involving Al Wifaq bloc next Saturday in the Pearl Square.
