BAHRAIN CROWN PRINCE CALLS FOR PATIENCE

Bahrain’s crown prince warned all sides against escalating a standoff with the opposition seeking an elected government in the country, asking for patience ahead of a national dialogue. Bahrain suffered its worst unrest since the 1990s last month when seven people died in a heavy-handed security response to protests by opposition groups. Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, tapped to lead a dialogue with the opposition, said the protests would continue to be allowed but must remain peaceful. “These rallies must not infringe upon the freedoms of other people. This is a basic principle. I urge all parties not to escalate matters or to slide into sensationalism. Some people do want this to happen, so we have to be fully committed and to speak out bravely against it,” Sheikh Salman said. “I hope that everyone will be brave, patient and optimistic and motivated to engage actively in the dialogue,” he was reported as saying. Bahrain’s protesters have been largely peaceful, inspired by mass rallies that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia before sparking an armed uprising in Libya and smaller protests in other Gulf states.