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U.S. irked by Bahrain's Shiite ban

Foreign clerics confront Iranian policemen in front of the Saudi Arabia embassy in Tehran, Iran on April 8, 2011. Hundreds of foreign clerics living in Iran protested in front of the Saudi Arabia embassy condemning the Saudi military support for the Bahrain government. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian
1 of 5 | Foreign clerics confront Iranian policemen in front of the Saudi Arabia embassy in Tehran, Iran on April 8, 2011. Hundreds of foreign clerics living in Iran protested in front of the Saudi Arabia embassy condemning the Saudi military support for the Bahrain government. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian | License Photo

WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- Washington called on the government of Bahrain to encourage political pluralism after Manama outlawed the country's largest Shiite political party.

Bahrain said Thursday it outlawed al-Wefaq, the country's largest Shiite political party, and the opposition Islamic Action Society for breaking the law during mass protests and for inciting violence.

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Bahrain's ruling Sunni minority is struggling to suppress an uprising from the country's Shiite majority. Wefaq in 2009 took 18 seats in the 40-member Parliament.

Mark Toner, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said Bahrain should find a political solution to the conflict by advancing an environment of full participation in the government.

"It is of concern to us that this is a registered, legitimate political society that has before now been recognized by the government of Bahrain," he told reporters.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deflected criticism that Washington was being selective in upholding democratic values in the Middle East, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The State Department this week issued a travel warning for Bahrain, saying "spontaneous violence may erupt" and "travel in and around Bahrain could become dangerous with little notice."

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