MANAMA: Thousands of opposition supporters blocked the entrance to the prime minister's office but failed to disrupt a government meeting Sunday as the campaign for reform in the strategic Gulf nation enters its third week. The protesters demanded the prime minister step down because of corruption and a deadly crackdown on the opposition in which seven people were killed. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the prime minister and the king's uncle, has been in power for 40 years. Khalifa, who was presiding over a weekly meeting of government ministers, told the state-run Bahrain News Agency that changes are under way and the kingdom's “reform march will continue.” “The government's development policies will continue upbeat as we are determined more than ever to achieve our goal of upgrading the citizens' standards of living by providing them with the means of decent life,” he said. The opposition groups have called for a constitutional monarchy. Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of US Navy's 5th Fleet. The king, Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, has taken some steps to quell the protests rattling one of the wealthiest corners of the Middle East. Hamad assigned Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa to lead talks with the opposition and ordered the creation of 20,000 new government jobs. On Sunday, the crown prince again called for all parties to join him in dialogue, saying the crisis will have to be resolved in a “civil manner.” “All (parties) are invited to talk,” Salman said. “I will not succeed without the support of the nation,” he told Bahrain's state TV. The opposition said it interpreted the announcement as an attempt to appease protesters who say government jobs have been shut to them.
