Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
456. Meanwhile, a small flotilla consisting of 30 fishing vessels sailed
from the Juffair harbour and arrived at 16:00 at the Bahrain Financial Harbour
as a sign of support for the demonstrators camped there.
457. Throughout the day, numerous cases of vandalism were reported in
various areas of Bahrain. These were generally attributable to the gradually
deteriorating security situation and the breakdown of law and order in the
country. For example, a checkpoint was set up in the vicinity of Roundabout
13 in Hamad Town at which numerous incidents of harassment were reported.
Moreover, at 22:30 reports indicated that unidentified individuals forced shop
owners in the Manama Market to close their stores and threatened to destroy
them if they were not closed. Later, a police officer reported being assaulted
by a group of persons carrying knives.
458. Many of the attacks reported during the day were against expatriates
residing in Bahrain, especially those of Asian descent. At 21:50, for example,
reports were filed by a person of Asian descent that a large group of people
was assaulting foreign workers in the areas surrounding the Bahrain Hotel.
Similarly, groups of unidentified individuals bearing sticks, wooden planks
and metal rods set up a road block in the vicinity of the Manama Police
Department and attacked a person of Asian descent.
459. In an attempt to reach a compromise, HRH the Crown Prince
prepared a document outlining seven core principles on which the national
dialogue should be based. These principles were partially drawn from the
documents presented by the opposition political societies, including Al Wefaq,
and from other documents. The seven principles were:
a. The Council of Representatives should be fully empowered.
b. The GoB should reflect the will of the people.
c. Electoral districting should be just.
d. Naturalisation policies should be discussed.
e. Governmental and financial corruption should be combatted.
f. National assets should be protected.
g. Sectarian tensions should be addressed.
460. It was the view of HRH the Crown Prince and his team that these
principles were a crystallisation of what had always been communicated to the
opposition as being open for discussion during the national dialogue. This
was best reflected, in the view of the negotiating team, in the reality that the
GoB was willing to discuss making the office of the Prime Minister
accountable to Parliament and reducing the powers of the Shura Council by
modelling it along the lines of the British House of Lords.
461. Later that day, these principles were used to prepare a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) which outlined the mechanism for dialogue and
reform. HRH the Crown Prince met HM King Hamad that night and received
His Majesty’s approval of this document and consented to undertaking
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