Bahrain

Bahrain's Feb 14 Revolution Coalition Praises Iranians' High Turnout in Election TEHRAN (FNA)- Bahrain's February 14 Revolution Coalition issued a statement Sunday praising the grand Muslim Iranian nation's strong presence in the Friday Presidential Election.

The Manama-based coalition has in the statement congratulated the Iranian people for their millions-strong presence at the ballot boxes which led to the election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran's next president, and their positive response to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei's call for the creation of a political epic by the nation.

"The millions-strong presence of the Iranian nation in the presidential election showed very powerfully that the Iranian nation complies with the orders issued by the Supreme Leader and its religious guardianship, and that Iranians are standing firm and united behind their religious and political leaders," it said.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar - were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

Police clampdown on protesters continues daily. Authorities have tried to stop organized protests by opposition parties over the past month by refusing to license them and using tear gas on those who turn up.

The opposition coalition wants full powers for the elected parliament and a cabinet fully answerable to parliament.

The Bahraini Revolution is also known as February 14th Revolution and the Pearl Square Revolution.

Protests began on 14 February 2011, but met immediate and strong reaction from security forces, which were later on fortified when the hundreds of Saudi anti-riot forces joined them.

Over thirty protesters were reportedly injured and one was killed as Bahraini government forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and birdshot to break up demonstrations on that very first day, but protests continued into the evening, drawing several hundred participants.

The protests have continued for over two years now, dedicating many martyrs, many more wounded, and a large number of others fired from government offices and imprisoned.