# Emergency Declared in Bahrain.



## mr.india (Jul 28, 2009)

King announces emergency powers for three months following weeks of unrest on the island, This is said on national television.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

BAHRAIN'S king imposed a three-month state of emergency yesterday and gave the country's military chief wide authority to battle a pro-democracy uprising that has threatened the ruling monarchy and drawn in forces from around the Gulf.

The martial law-style order - read on Bahrain state TV - comes a day after more than 1,000 Saudi-led troops arrived to help prop up the US-backed regime in the first major cross-border action against the revolts that have erupted across the Arab world.

A security official in Saudi Arabia said a Saudi sergeant was shot and killed by a protester yesterday in Bahrain's capital, Manama. No other details were immediately given on the death of the soldier, identified as Sgt. Ahmed al-Raddadi.

But, if true, it would mark a dramatic shift in the tactics by the opposition, which has displayed no weapons and has adopted the chant of "peaceful" as a main slogan.

The Saudi official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.



The dispatch of troops from Gulf allies on Monday highlighted the regional worries about possible spillover from Bahrain, where members of a majority Shiite population have led a month of relentless protests against the Western-backed Sunni dynasty to try to break its monopoly on power.

Other Gulf leaders fear that concessions by Bahrain's rulers could embolden more protests against their own regimes, which have already confronted pro-reform cries in Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. There are also fears that gains by Bahrain's Shiite Muslims could offer a window for Shiite power Iran to expand its influence on the Arab side of the Gulf.

The emergency law statement said the head of Bahrain's armed forces has been authorized "to take necessary steps to restore national security."

Hours before the announcement, Bahrain's capital was in lockdown mode with stores and schools shuttered and main highways blocked by police.

In Tehran, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, denounced the presence of foreign troops in Bahrain as "unacceptable" and predicted it would complicate the kingdom's political crisis. Iran holds no deep political ties to Bahrain's Shiite groups, but some Iranian hard-liners in the past have hailed their efforts for greater rights.

Bahraini opposition groups also have strongly condemned the military move, calling it an occupation that pushes Bahrain dangerously close to a state of "undeclared war."


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