Shiite MPs Boycott Parliament as 2 Dead in Bahrain Demos

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Two protesters died in clashes with Bahraini police, sparking angry calls from young cyber-activists for regime change and a walkout of parliament by Bahrain's main Shiite opposition bloc on Tuesday.

The events prompted King Hamad to express sorrow for the deaths, announce a ministerial probe and pledge to press ahead with reforms, in an address to the tiny Gulf state facing Iran across the Gulf that is ruled by his Sunni family.

The Islamic National Accord Association which has 18 seats in the 40-member house earlier announced it had "suspended its membership" in parliament over the killings of the Shiite demonstrators.

The decision came because of "the deterioration in security and the negative and brutal way in which (authorities) dealt with the protesters, killing two of them," a bloc member, MP Khalil al-Marzooq, told Agence France Presse.

Fadel Salman Matrouk was shot dead in front of a hospital on Tuesday where mourners gathered for the funeral of Ali Msheymah who died of his wounds after police dispersed a protest in a village east of Manama on Monday, he said.

Marzooq said both men were "martyrs."

King Hamad said he was saddened by the deaths and expressed his "deep condolences to their families."

"Everyone should know that I have assigned Deputy Prime Minister Jawad al-Orayedh to form a special committee to find out the reasons that led to such regrettable events," he said.

The king also renewed his commitment to reforms, which changed the state from an emirate to a constitutional monarchy after a 2001 referendum, leading to polls in 2002 for the first time since parliament was scrapped in 1975.

"Reform is going ahead. It will not stop," he said.

The interior ministry said that "some of the people participating in the funeral on Tuesday clashed with forces from a security patrol," leading to Matrouk's death.

It also announced the death of a protester late on Monday "due to his wounds" and opened an inquiry into whether police resorted to "unjustified use of arms" in Diya village.

News of the two deaths prompted activists, who posted pictures of both men on a Facebook page, to call for a huge turnout at their funerals.

Thousands took part in Msheymah's funeral in Diya, some chanting that "the people want to oust the regime," the slogan used in Egypt where mass protests forced president Hosni Mubarak's ouster last Friday.

The Facebook page which called for a February 14 pro-reform uprising, inspired by the protests which ousted the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, has attracted more than 22,000 "likes."

On Tuesday, activists in the kingdom stepped up their demands.

"Before February 14, we were calling for reforms but after the fall of martyrs we are calling for the ouster of the regime," read their Internet message.

Tech-savvy Bahrainis have been using the Internet to issue social demands for the government to create jobs for a growing number of unemployed young people and to increase wages.

The Shiite opposition bloc supports the demonstrations "but will not call for them because we want the world to see that those making the change are Bahrain's youths" and not any political parties, MP Marzooq said.

Witnesses told AFP protests were held on Monday in a string of Shiite-majority villages to the west, east and north of the capital as well as in the historic Balad al-Qadim quarter of Manama city center.

Turnout at the rallies ranged from between a few dozen to hundreds of people, they said.

Security forces were deployed in force along main roads into Manama on Monday in a bid to head off rallies called on the Internet, mirroring similar online initiatives around the Arab world.

Twenty-five Shiite activists, facing terrorism charges, are on trial in the tiny state, ruled by the family of King Hamad that retains a tight grip on the premiership and key ministries.

In the 1990s, the Arab state which faces Iran across the Gulf waterway, was plagued by a wave of Shiite-led unrest that has abated since the 2001 reforms restored parliament.

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