Bahrain’s King Hamad ordered Sunday an end to the state of emergency from June 1st, after it was declared in mid-March to tackle a month-long Shiite-led protest demanding political reforms, state media said. “The state of national safety is to be lifted by June 1st across the kingdom of Bahrain,” said a decree issued by King Hamad, according to BNA state news agency.
The three-month state of emergency was due to be lifted June 15 and was imposed after the kingdom called in troops from neighbouring Gulf states to help quash anti-regime protests. It was declared on March 15 and gave the commander of the Bahraini armed forces a mandate “to take the measures and procedures necessary to preserve the safety of the nation and its people.”
It also stipulated that “other forces” could also be used if necessary. Armoured troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had earlier rolled across the causeway from Saudi’s Eastern Province to help Manama tackle pro-democracy protests that shook the kingdom. Bahraini security forces on March 16 drove protesters out of Manama’s Pearl Square, the focal point of demonstrations dominated by the Shiite majority of the the kingdom that is ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa family.
Under the state of emergency, Bahraini security forces cracked down on Shiite villages and arrested hundreds of people, many of whom have been referred to special courts.
