Feb. 16
Thousands of protesters poured into this nation’s symbolic center, Pearl Square, in a raucous rally mirroring the unrest convulsing, if not transforming, governments of the Middle East. The crowd grew bolder as it grew larger, and modest concessions from the government seemed only to raise expectations among the protesters.
Feb. 17
Hundreds of heavily armed riot police officers rushed into Pearl Square, firing shotguns, tear gas and concussion grenades at the thousands of demonstrators who were sleeping there. At least five people died, and at least 200 were wounded, according to medical personnel. At the main hospital following the violence, thousands gathered screaming, crying and collapsing in grief.
Feb. 18
Government forces opened fire on hundreds of mournersmarching toward Pearl Square. A Western official quoted a witness as saying that the shooters were from the military, not the police, indicating a hardening of the government’s stance against those trying to stage a popular revolt. Video: Bahrain: A Diplomatic Puzzle
Feb. 19
Thousands of jubilant protesters surged back into Pearl Square,the symbolic heart of Bahrain, after the government withdrew its security forces, calling for calm after days of violent crackdowns. The shift was at least a temporary victory for the Shiite protesters, who had rejected a call to negotiate from Bahrain’s Sunni monarch until the authorities pulled the military off the streets. A review of administration statements shows that American officials overlooked recent complaintsabout human rights abuses in the strategically important kingdom.
Feb. 20
Teachers, lawyers and engineers again marched into Pearl Square, joining an emboldened opposition whose political leaders demanded that King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa dissolve the government and fire his uncle, who has held the post of prime minister for 40 years, before they agree to enter into talks. The crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, continued to call for a national dialogue and period of mourning as a step toward reconciliation. But officials with the leading opposition party said that with six people dead, hundreds injured and many still missing, the king would first have to convince them that he was willing to compromise after repeatedly unleashing his security forces on civilians.
Feb. 21
The organizers of the Bahrain Grand Prix announced that the Formula One race which was scheduled to run March 13 at the Sakhir circuit, outside the capital, Manama, had been canceled because of the political unrest in the country. Bahrain has held the race since 2004 at a purpose-built circuit about 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, from the capital city. But the majority of the teams, media and foreign spectators stay in hotels in the center of the city, many of them near Pearl Square, which has been the central meeting point of the demonstrations.
Feb. 22
More than a hundred thousand protesters poured into Pearl Square in an unbroken stream stretching back for miles along a central highway in the biggest antigovernment demonstration yet seen in this tiny Persian Gulf kingdom. Security forces were nowhere to be seen along the demonstration route. The protesters streaming into the square on Tuesday joined thousands of others who have camped out in order to occupy the area after the military pulled out following a deadly crackdown last week. The sheer size of the gathering was astonishing, and the new arrivals were likely to overflow into the area surrounding the square.
Feb. 25
Pro-democracy demonstrations on a scale that appeared to dwarf the largest ever seen in the tiny Persian Gulf nation blocked miles of downtown roads and highways in Manama, overflowing from Pearl Square for the second time in a week. For the first time however, it was the country’s Shiite religious leaders, rather than the political opposition, who called for people to take to the streets. Although some of the chants and symbols had a religious cast, protesters’ demands remained the same, emphasizing a nonsectarian call for democracy and the downfall of the government.
Feb. 27
The leader of a banned opposition party, Hassan Mushaima,returned from exile and exhorted a crowd of tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters to continue demonstrating until they achieved a “successful revolution.” Mr. Mushaima, a dissident who has long demanded fundamental changes in what is effectively an absolute monarchy, appeared to be trying to move into a leadership role in the opposition movement.
March 4
Thousands of Shiite protesters converged on the state television headquarters outside the capital, Manama, The Associated Press reported. The latest protest came a day after brief clashes between groups of Sunnis and Shiites in the town of Hamad that again highlighted the sectarian divisions that have been driving demonstrations in the tiny Persian Gulf nation.
- March 6
The leaders of Bahrain’s opposition movement said that theywould not be mollified by offers of money and jobs, raising the prospect of a protracted standoff between protesters and the embattled government of this strategically important Persian Gulf island nation.
March 12
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned this tiny kingdom’s ruling family that “baby steps” toward reform would not be enoughto meet the political and economic grievances sweeping the region. Mr. Gates also cautioned Bahrain’s king and crown prince during two hours of meetings in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, that if the reform process was prolonged, the United States feared that Iran would become involved and create more chaos.
March 13
Thousands of antigovernment protesters in Bahrain blocked access to the financial district in Manama, the capital, preventing workers from getting to their offices and pushing back police officers who tried to disperse them. It was the most serious challenge to the royal family that rules Bahrain since protests began last month. Witnesses said the police used tear gas and fired on the protesters with rubber bullets.
March 14
Troops crossed from Saudi Arabia into Bahrain to help quell unrest there, a move Bahraini opposition groups denounced as an “occupation,” while pro-government legislators called for the imposition of martial law. The Iranian government, which has supported the protests led by the Shiite majority, branded the move “unacceptable.”
March 15
Hours after the king of Bahrain declared a three-month state of emergency, doctors said two protesters had been killed and some 200 wounded and injured in clashes with riot police in the suburban village of Sitra, a stronghold of antigovernment activists six miles south of the capital. The violence contrasted starkly with a large protest in downtown Manama, where more than 10,000 protesters marched peacefully on the Saudi Arabian Embassy to denounce a military intervention by Persian Gulf countries the day before.
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