Bahraini independents worried that the island will slide into sectarian violence have begun an effort to break the political stalemate between pro-government and opposition forces.

Ali Fakhro, a former minister and ambassador respected across the political spectrum, told Reuters that he hoped to get moderates from both sides together at a time when extremists are making themselves felt throughout the Gulf Arab state.

Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim rulers crushed a pro-democracy uprising last year that was dominated by members of the majority Shi’ite community. But unrest has continued since then with daily clashes between riot police and Shi’ite protesters.

The violence has worsened in recent weeks as the Feb 14 anniversary of the protest movement approaches. Thirty-five people had died by the time martial law was lifted in June, but the figure has risen to over 60 since then, activists say.

The interior ministry says it wants legislation to stop attacks on police who dodge petrol bombs and iron bars, while protesters say abuse of detainees is returning as police drown villages in teargas and chase them down alleys in fast cars.

“There are extremists all over Bahrain but we hope the moderates will say ‘why not meet and try to get Bahrain out of this’. There is no harm from meeting, even if they disagree,” Fakhro said in an interview on Wednesday.

He decried the split between Bahrainis in Sunni areas such as Muharraq and Shi’ite centres such as Manama.

“People in Muharraq are in their trenches and those in Manama are in their trenches, like it was a war, and it’s ridiculous,” he said.

Fakhro said the initiative, launched at a meeting last week, involved persuading opposition parties and pro-government groups meeting outside a government forum and agreeing on a list of basic demands for democratic reform.

He launched the plan at a meeting of prominent Bahrainis with no official political affiliations or memberships last Saturday, called the National Bahraini Meeting. Delegations are putting out feelers to each side this week.

The idea was to avoid the problems of government attempts at dialogue, he said, by having the political groups agree first among themselves before taking whatever they agree upon to a senior figure in the ruling Al Khalifa family.

A basic framework for discussion would be seven points for democratic reform announced by Crown Prince Salman shortly before the government brought in Saudi troops and imposed martial law to end the street protests in March.

The crown prince’s initiative was subsequently tossed aside as hardliners within the family, which dominates senior government posts, won out, analysts and diplomats say.

“[We] posed a question: what is the main problem now? It was felt that society itself has not agreed on a political agenda for reforms whereby at least there is a minimal agreement on an agenda,” Fakhro said.

“This is needed immediately to get Bahrain out of its present tragic situation – to stop young people continuing their daily activities and assure Shi’ites and Sunnis that there will be a new horizon which is fair and just to everybody.”

A government “national dialogue” last July produced limited reforms giving parliament some powers of oversight over ministers but fell short of demands that include reducing the power of the appointed upper chamber, removing the prime minister in power for over 40 years and allowing elected government.

Such reforms would be a major shift for the Gulf region, where Kuwait has a parliament with legislative powers that does not form cabinets but Saudi Arabia has only municipal elections.

Some Sunni Bahrainis fear that political reforms would empower the Shi’ite majority to their detriment and believe that Shi’ite power Iran would gain influence. In recent weeks, pro-government groups in plainclothes have attacked some Shi’ites.

Gulf states also fear Iran would benefit from democracy in Bahrain – a U.S. ally that hosts Washington’s Fifth Fleet – and raise pressure for more democracy on their own patch.

The opposition parties are dominated by Shi’ite groups such as Wefaq, though the secular Waad party is led by a Sunni who is among 14 jailed protest leaders. The pro-government parties are led mainly by Sunni Islamists.

A source at Wefaq said the group welcomed the initiative but doubted a breakthrough would be possible as tensions mount before the Feb. 14 anniversary.