Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
relinquishing control of the roundabout to demonstrators. By 17:00, there
were approximately 15,000 demonstrators at the roundabout.
269. The mood inside the roundabout was celebratory. Demonstrators
dismantled the barricades and barbed wire fences left by the security forces
while also erecting tents and hanging signs outlining their demands. Many
people considered the reopening of the GCC Roundabout to be a victory for
the protest movement and a demonstration of their ability to compel the GoB
to alter its behaviour. People of various political and ideological leanings
congregated at the roundabout to express their views on the unfolding
situation in Bahrain and the possible solutions to the unrest that the country
was witnessing. Most demonstrators vowed to remain at the roundabout until
their demands were met.
270. At 16:00, the BDF General Command issued a statement announcing
that its armed units that had been deployed in the capital had successfully
executed their missions, and that they had been ordered to return to their
bases.
271. Meanwhile, at the political level, groups of prominent Sunni figures
and business people met with HRH the Crown Prince to share their views
about the unfolding situation. Some expressed the view that much ground had
been ceded to the demands of the Shia, and that HRH the Crown Prince
should take a tougher line with the opposition. Meanwhile, advisers to HRH
the Crown Prince were informed that a meeting had been held between the
seven main opposition political societies, in which it was decided that no
agreement should be reached with the GoB except if unanimously endorsed by
all of them. Information also indicated that at least two of those seven
opposition groups, Wa’ad and the Shirazi group, had expressed reservations
about reaching an agreement with HRH the Crown Prince.
272. The Crown Prince gave an address on Bahrain Television later that
evening. He stated that there was a ray of hope on the horizon and expressed
his gratitude for those “sage and wise individuals” who had responded
positively to the call for calm and national unity that he had issued the night
before. He announced that a new era was beginning in which all issues and
problems would be discussed openly and honestly. He also reaffirmed the
importance of maintaining calm, which was indispensible if all parties were
going to present their views in a productive and constructive manner
273. The Crown Prince also declared that HM King Hamad had issued a
decree authorising him to head the national dialogue. Later that night, HRH
the Crown Prince assembled a negotiating team, in which he was careful to
include Shia, Sunnis and a member of the ruling family.
274. At 21:30, the Secretary General of Al Wefaq, Sheikh Ali Salman,
gave a speech at the GCC Roundabout in which he reaffirmed the peaceful
nature of the protests and demanded that the GoB prove its commitment to
refrain from clearing out the area by force again. He added that the various
political opposition forces and the youth at the roundabout would be prepared
to enter into a dialogue with the GoB when the latter had proved its goodwill.
82