Page 67 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

Disturbances and strikes, 1953-1954 53

under the heading of "The Requests of; the People of

Bahrain" was circulated in the hazaar, The
petition asked for;
(i/ A freely elected Advisory Council with
equal representation for Sunnis and Shias to
examine all public affairs;
(ii) A Legal Committee to draft a code of law;

the law was then to he approved by the Advisory
Council;
(iii) Reform of the Courts and appointment of
judges, foreign judges if necessary, with law
degrees;
(iv) Elected Councils for the Municipalities,
public health and education;
(v) Reform of the police and acceptance of

the principle that the head of the, police is
responsible for consequences of any breach of
the peace,
(vi) Compensation for the victims of incidents
since 10th Muharram and a general amnesty;

(vii) Punishment of the police responsible for
firing on the crowd on July 1.
10, Nos (ii), (iii) and (v) of these demands
corresponded, with some modification, to proposals
which we had already pressed on the Ruler, and it

appeared that if the Ruler accepted our views on
Uiese points and were willing to pay compensation,
he could without harm to his interests go a long way
/towards