Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Chapter IV — Narrative of Events of February and March 2011
the GoB and the opposition have their share of responsibility in letting events
unfold as they have.
644. Reviewing the progression of the protest movement in Bahrain from
its inception on 14 February 2011 provides a number of insights. The
demands expressed during the earlier demonstrations related mainly to
political and constitutional reform, which was to pave the way for greater
popular participation in governance, equal access to socio-economic
opportunities and development, action against corruption, and termination of
the alleged practice of political naturalisation. These demands were supported
across the board, and did not reflect sectarian or ethnic characteristics. Few of
the protestors who took to the streets on 14 February called for changing the
ruling regime in Bahrain, or directed criticism at HM King Hamad or the
ruling family.
645. The size and breadth of these initial demonstrations was relatively
limited. However, the death of two protestors on 14 and 15 February caused
the number of persons participating in protests throughout Bahrain to increase
significantly. In addition, a discernible shift in the nature of demands being
called for in these protests took place after the first clearance of the GCC
Roundabout on 17 February 2011 and the deaths that occurred in
confrontations between protestors and security forces. Popular discontent was
further heightened by what many considered to be the lack of both adequate
and timely government responses to the protestors’ demands and measures to
address grievances. For example, the limited cabinet reshuffle of 25 February
was viewed by many demonstrators as inadequate. This led demonstrators to
escalate their demands and call for the resignation of HRH the Prime Minister
and the entire Cabinet.
646. As the protests continued, more criticism and allegations of
corruption were directed at HRH the Prime Minister. Later, many
demonstrators began to call for changing the ruling regime in Bahrain, and
gradually, the chant “the people demand the removal of the regime”, which
was borrowed from other Arab countries that had witnessed similar mass
uprisings, became one of the protestors’ slogans.
647. The meaning of the call to remove the regime that was chanted by
many Bahrainis was, at least initially, not identical to that chanted in other
Arab countries. For most political opposition groups, including Al Wefaq,
removal of the regime did not mean establishing a republic in Bahrain and
removing the ruling Al Khalifa family from power, but rather securing the
resignation of HRH the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to be followed by
constitutional reform that would allow for an elected Prime Minister,
responsible government and a fully empowered and democratically elected
legislature.
648. Another notable feature of the demonstrations that occurred after the
reopening of the GCC Roundabout, on 19 February, was the extension of
protests to other important locations in Manama. This started with the
organisation of mass rallies in the main thoroughfares leading to the GCC
Roundabout, such as the Martyr’s March of 22 February. Demonstrations also
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