A Bahraini anti-government protester prays at the Pearl roundabout in Manama, Bahrain, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Reading in Arabic says ” No dialogue until the regime falls”. Bahrain’s opposition leaders gathered Sunday to examine offers for talks by Bahrain’s rulers after nearly a week of protests and deadly clashes that have sharply divided the strategic Gulf nation. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)BARBARA SURK, Associated Press
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain – Bahrain’s opposition wants the nation’s rulers to guarantee they will back up their conciliatory words with actions, a Shiite leader said Sunday as he and other activists weighed the regime’s offer for talks after nearly a week of protests and deadly clashes that have divided the Gulf nation.
The streets in the tiny but strategically important island kingdom were calmer as efforts shifted toward political haggling over demands the monarchy give up its near-absolute control over key policies and positions.
But bitterness and tensions still run deep after seesaw battles that saw riot police opening fire on protesters trying to reclaim landmark Pearl Square and then pulling back to allow them to occupy it. At least seven people have been killed and hundreds injured since the Arab wave for change reached the Gulf last Monday. The protesters were preparing to spend another night in the square by late Sunday.