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Fri, March 18, 2011 | CNN

Bahrain Demolishes Statue at Pearl Roundabout, Site of Anti-Government Protest

Manama, Bahrain (CNN):

Security forces in Bahrain on Friday demolished the Pearl Monument, a landmark that had been the site of massive recent anti-government protests.

Friday evening, pieces of the modern white structure lay like a pile of bones in the center of the Pearl Roundabout, according to pictures broadcast on Bahrain state television.

The government explained the demolition by saying it was done “out of the government’s keenness to optimize services and improve the infrastructure” and that it would “boost flow of traffic in this vital area of the capital,” according to the state-run Bahrain News Agency.

Thousands of people congregated at the Pearl Roundabout during the height of anti-government demonstrations last month. The highway leading to the roundabout was clogged with protesters this week, though it was clear Friday and streets were quiet after a government crackdown on protesters.

Members of the opposition expressed their disappointment at the demolition of a structure the government itself had described as one of the kingdom’s “most striking landmarks.”

Read more here.

Photo Gallery

Bahrain demolished the statue at the Pearl roundabout, the focal point and symbol of weeks of pro-democracy protests there, March 18, 2011. (Hamad I Mohammed / Reuters)

Bahrain demolished the statue at the Pearl roundabout, the focal point and symbol of weeks of pro-democracy protests there, March 18, 2011. (Hamad I Mohammed / Reuters)

Bahrain demolished the statue at the Pearl roundabout, the focal point and symbol of weeks of pro-democracy protests there, march 18, 2011. (Hamad I Mohammed / Reuters)