Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Chapter IV — Narrative of Events of February and March 2011
demonstrations were also recorded in various neighbourhoods in Manama and
nearby villages. In addition, incidents of assault against citizens and resident
expatriate workers were reported.
417. The number of demonstrators at the Financial Harbour continued to
grow. The demands expressed during these protests mirrored those in other
locations. Most of those present called for the removal of the regime and the
resignation of the cabinet. They criticised what they described as government
corruption, and raised one Bahraini dinar notes as a symbol of the allegation
that the land on which the harbour was built was sold to HRH the Prime
Minister for one dinar. Intermittently during the day, demonstrators were
reported to have disrupted traffic on the King Faisal Highway adjacent to the
harbour.
418. At 15:00, a group of around 150 women marched from the Bahrain
Financial Harbour down the King Faisal Highway towards the GCC
Roundabout. The women raised slogans similar to those heard in other
demonstrations, including the demand to remove the regime, the call for HRH
the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to resign, and the chants, “Erhal…erhal Al
Khalifa” (a call to the ruling family to leave), and, “Down with Hamad” (in
reference to the King). The demonstrators also reaffirmed their rejection of
attempts to drive a wedge between Shia and Sunnis, and expressed their
commitment to national unity. Some protesters criticised the government
policy of political naturalisation, which aimed to affect the demographic
balance in Bahrain. Later that night, at approximately 20:20, another march of
around 500 women was reported to have proceeded from the GCC
Roundabout and walked down the King Faisal Highway, causing some
disruption of traffic in the area.
419. Meanwhile, a number of prominent individuals gave speeches at the
GCC Roundabout. Some of the speakers were political figures, religious
clerics, journalists, civil society leaders, human rights activists and lawyers.
Among those who spoke was Ms Ayat Al-Qurmezi, a 20-year-old University
of Bahrain student and poet, who delivered a number of poems during the
protests at the GCC Roundabout. Some of these poems were deeply critical of
HM King Hamad, the Prime Minister and the ruling family. In her poems, Ms
Al-Qurmezi expressed her views relating to the political situation in Bahrain,
including what she considered to be the undemocratic policies of the regime
and the corrupt practices of senior government officials.
420. Other speakers at the roundabout, including prominent journalists,
addressed what they perceived to be a deliberate policy of the GoB to incite
sectarianism and undermine social harmony. Speakers urged the
demonstrators to remain peaceful and not to respond to provocations,
especially those from pro-government media outlets, and to reach out to the
Sunni community to reassure them that the purpose of the ongoing
demonstrations was not to create a regime that would oppress them.
421. On the political front, some political societies demanded guarantees
that the GoB would respect the measures agreed upon during the national
dialogue. Representatives of HRH the Crown Prince proposed two options.
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