TIMELINE-Events in Bahrain as national dialogue continues
18 Jul 2011 14:13
July 18 (Reuters) - Here is a timeline of events in Bahrain as new protests take place and the opposition says it is planning to pull out of a national dialogue to heal rifts within the Gulf island kingdom.
Feb. 14, 2011 - Anti-government "Day of Rage" inspired by popular upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia. One protester is killed. The next day another person is killed when police clash with mourners at the protester's funeral.
Feb. 17 - Bahrain police storm Pearl Roundabout, the focal point of protests, on a Manama square, to clear activists camped out there. At least seven people are killed.
Feb. 21 - Bahrain cancels a Formula One motor race due to have been held on March 13. Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa says "the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain".
Feb. 26 - Hardline Shi'ite dissident, Hassan Mushaimaa, is allowed to return as part of several concessions by the ruling al-Khalifa family to Bahrain's majority Shi'ites.
March 3 - Tensions turn into clashes between Sunnis and Shi'ites in Bahrain, the first direct confrontation between the two communities since February's large-scale protests.
March 14 - Around 1,000 Saudi troops are deployed in Bahrain at the ruling family's request to protect government facilities after mainly Shi'ite protesters overrun police and block roads.
-- The United Arab Emirates says it will send 500 police.
March 15 - Bahrain declares martial law.
March 16 - Bahraini forces crack down on protesters, clearing hundreds from the camp that had become their symbol.
-- The military imposes a curfew across most parts of Manama, the capital, and bans all public gatherings and demonstrations across the island state.
April 7 - The crown prince says he is committed to reform but warns there will be "no leniency" for those who try to divide the kingdom.
-- Wefaq opposition group says at least 29 people have been killed in the turmoil, all but six of them Shi'ites.
May 22 - An emergency appeals court upholds death sentences on two men found guilty of killing police officers during the unrest. Two other men who were among the four initially sentenced on April 28 have their sentences commuted.
May 31 - King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa calls for talks on reform involving all parties in the Gulf Arab state "without preconditions", the state news agency says.
June 1 - Bahrain lifts state of emergency.
-- However military courts will still hear several cases started since martial law began. Twenty-one opposition figures, seven of whom are abroad, are on military trial on charges of seeking to overthrow the system.
June 11 - Up to 10,000 people attend a rally for political reforms in the first large demonstration since the state crushed the democracy protest movement.
June 15 - Formula One's governing body formally strikes the Bahrain Grand Prix off the 2011 calendar.
June 22 - Bahrain sentences 10 Shi'ite prominent activists to life in prison for plotting a coup during the protests.
June 29 - Bahrain announces it is setting up an independent fact-finding commission to investigate the weeks of protests that rocked the island after international criticism.
-- The commission will also probe the legality of mass arrests and the dismissal of around 2,000 workers which had been condemned by the U.S., Britain and other Western allies.
July 2 - Talks between Bahrain's opposition and pro-government groups begin, aimed at healing deep rifts opened during the protests. In all, there are 300 participants in the dialogue and just 35 of them are from the opposition.
July 5 - Bahrain's opposition says the first session of the dialogue raises questions over whether talks aimed at easing tensions can succeed.
July 15 - Thousands of Bahrainis shouting "one man, one vote" attend a rally for political reform held by Wefaq.
July 17 - Wefaq says it plans to pull out of a national dialogue set up by the government as its views are not being taken seriously. It also says the talks are dominated by pro-government representatives. The decision must be ratified by the movement's higher council.
July 18 - The government expresses regret that Wefaq has planned to pull out of a national dialogue, but says talks will continue with or without the influential group. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;)
