Manama, Bahrain (CNN) -- Thousands of Bahrainis protested their government Saturday in a rally organized by the main opposition party.
Unafraid, pro-reform demonstrators hit the streets with their faces uncovered, said a journalist at the scene who was not identified for security reasons.
It was the second such protest since the government last week lifted emergency laws that were imposed in mid-March, allowing a crackdown on political leaders and journalists.
Sunday, attention will focus on the case of a 20-year-old poet who was arrested for writing and then reading her anti-government work at earlier demonstrations. She is expected to appear in military court Sunday.
Bahrain's ruling royal family -- Sunnis in a majority-Shiite nation -- accuses protesters of being motivated by sectarian differences and supported by Iran.
Ali Salman, the secretary general of al Wefaq, Bahrain's principal opposition party, dismissed those claims Saturday.
He told the large crowds that he supports the government's offer of dialogue but said he could not endorse it fully until the conditions for such talks were clear.
Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa pledged cooperation from the government "to reach national consensus so as to ensure a better future for the kingdom," the state-run Bahrain News Agency said.
Crown Prince Salman, who met with U.S. officials in Washington Wednesday, thanked President Barack Obama for his backing of a national dialogue in Bahrain.
Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, and the United States has been concerned about the instabilityin the Persian Gulf island state.CNN's Nic Robertson contributed to this report.
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