Bahrain’s Pearl Square fills with thousands of protesters (VIDEO)

Thousands of protesters filled Bahrain's Pearl Square Tuesday as they called for democratic reforms on the heels of revolts that have forever changed Tunisia and Egypt.

The protests in the capital began with a "Day of Rage" organized online and quickly became a powerful movement demanding changes to the monarchy. The parliament is now in limbo as the opposition party has begun a boycott.

“We are going to get our demands,” Hussein Ramadan, 32, a political activist and organizer, told The New York Times. “The people are angry, but we will control our anger, we will not burn a single tire, or throw a single rock. We will not go home until we succeed. They want us to be violent. We will not.”

Security forces allegedly killed two anti-government protesters. This prompted King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa to promise to probe the deaths, and the United States to offer condolences to the families and encourage the investigation.

Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni minority, and the Shia majority has long complained of discrimination.

"Bahrain's leaders have for years granted citizenship to Sunnis from across the region to expand their base of loyalists and try to gain demographic ground against Shiites, about 70 percent of the population of some 500,000. Many of the Sunnis — Jordanians, Syrians and others — receive police jobs or other security-related posts," AP reports.

Located in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain is a strategically important ally of the United States. It is a base for the U.S. Navy's 5th fleet. Unlike in Iran, where Washington has appeared to encourage the protests, in Bahrain, it has put pressure on the king to address the protesters' concerns.

"Those two approaches were on vivid display at a news conference on Tuesday. President Obama … urged protesters to muster 'the courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedoms and a more representative government,' " reports The New York Times. "But speaking to other restive countries, including Bahrain, Mr. Obama directed his advice to governments, not protesters, illustrating just how tricky diplomacy in the region has become."

The protests in Bahrain come as demonstrations across the Middle East take inspiration from Egypt and Tunisia and demand change at home. Read more about the protests in Iran, Yemen, Algeria and Jordan.

Follow GlobalPost on Twitter: @GlobalPost