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Source: http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/20/int10.htm
Anti-U.S. Demos Target Bahrain Naval Base
(Dawn - Pakistan) Tony Perry - Chanting "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" protesters in Manama, Bahrain, on Friday angrily called for the government to oust the U.S. Navy from the base that serves as its regional headquarters in the Persian Gulf. The Navy's 5th Fleet is headquartered here, and U.S. and British Royal Air Force planes use the international airport as a regional hub. Organized by the local Islamic political group, the protest was the latest in a series of anti-U.S. demonstrations in recent months, including a rock-throwing march by several thousand people outside the U.S. Embassy in April. Two sailors were beaten by a crowd a month later. King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa has opted to allow street demonstrations as part of his drive toward opening up the Bahraini political process. Under his late father, such demonstrations were banned and political opponents sometimes were jailed.