MANAMA: Bahrain's army Thursday eased a curfew applied under state-of-emergency laws to central Manama, saying it would now take effect four hours later at 8 P.M. and end at 4 A.M. An army spokesman made the announcement on state television a day after security forces launched a raid on a month-old sit-in by pro-democracy activists calling for a constitutional monarchy in the Gulf kingdom. Meanwhile, a military statement read out on state television said authorities have arrested opposition leaders on charges including contact with foreign states and calling for the fall of the regime. “Several leaders of sedition who had called for the fall of the regime” were arrested for being in contact with foreign states and instigating killings and vandalism, said the statement. It did not say how many people were detained, nor did it name them. “They were arrested in the night,” said opposition group Al-Wefaq's deputy leader Khalil Marzouk. Among those arrested was Hassan Mashaima, who only returned to Manama from abroad on Feb. 26 after terrorism charges against him were dropped as part of an earlier peace offering from the government to the opposition. In its statement, the Bahrain Defense Force said it was acting in accordance with martial law, which was announced Tuesday, adding it would “take all legal measures” against those arrested. The arrests come a day after three protesters were killed when security forces firing tear gas and shotguns cleared out a month-old pro-democracy sit-in at Manama's Pearl Square, according to the opposition. Meanwhile, an Arabic newspaper reported, Kuwait will not send forces to Bahrain to help put down anti-government demonstrations but may try to mediate. “I will leave today (Wednesday) to Bahrain to hand over a letter from His Highness the Emir to his brother King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa,” the daily Al-Jarida quoted Kuwaiti Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah as saying. The newspaper said Kuwait would not send forces and is looking into playing a mediating role, but it did not name its sources.
