In October 2011, spokesperson Ahmad al-Rayah flew to Beirut to report on the situation in Eastern Province. He stated that he wished for the Society for Development and Change to be legally registered.[3] Al-Rayah said that although protests for democracy and civil rights had taken place since February 2011, security forces did not fire live bullets against protestors until 3 October, when they "fired live rounds directly into a crowd" around a police station in al-Awamiyah.[3]