Formula 1 furore
Riots in Bahrain ahead of Sunday's Grand
Prix
Fury is growing among protesters, politicians and human rights
groups over Formula 1's plans to go ahead with its Grand Prix race
in Bahrain on Sunday.
Extra protection for drivers and spectators is being organised
as protesters there have promised "three days of rage".
A car carrying Formula 1 staff had to swerve to avoid a pertrol
bomb that was thrown at it during a riot outside the race track
yesterday.
Just over a year ago, the leaders of Bahrain started a brutal
crackdown against anti-government protesters.
The demonstrators have been calling for proper human rights and
more democracy. Their protests have been mainly peaceful, though a
small number of them have been becoming more violent and
extreme.
Bahrain is ruled by a king - Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa.
His clan has been in charge of the island for more than two hundred
years.
The king and his family are Sunni Muslims, but the majority of
the people of Bahrain are Shia Muslims. Many Shias say they are
treated unfairly in the country.
Violence, torture and unfair trials are often used against
people who speak out against the rulers.
Protesters say the Formula 1 race should not go ahead because it
allows the Bahrain government to pretend that everything is
fine.
One activist said: "People here are getting killed, and with F1
here we feel like they are driving on our blood, on our
bodies."
The president of Formula 1 Jean Todt said his organisation was
"only interested in sport not politics".
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Formula 1 furore
Bahrain on course for a political collision
course
It's business as usual in Bahrain, or at least that's what the
country's government would like the world to think.
This week, as thousands of tourists flood in to Bahrain for the
controversial Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix, there is a revving up
of political protest that could well drown out the sound of the
engines on the starting grid for Sunday's race.
It was just over a year ago that Bahrain's authorities launched
their brutal crackdown on anti-Government protesters as the first
rumblings of an uprising were felt.
Since then, King Hamad and the Sunni al Khalifa clan that has
ruled this island for more than two centuries have promised
political reform. The reality, however, is very different.
This Sunday's sporting spectacle is just an opportunity for a
regime more concerned with improving its image than delivering
political reform, proper human rights or any solution to the
deep-rooted sense of discrimination felt by the country's Shia
majority.
Bahrain is certainly not a stable and legitimate democracy.
Instead, almost daily, its police and legal system use excessive
force, widespread torture, unfair trials and unlawful killings in
crushing those outspoken enough to question the state.
Evidence of this has been gathered by human rights monitors
including Amnesty International, which published its own detailed
findings earlier this week.
Perhaps equally worrying are signs of a drift towards violence
among protestors as some individuals, frustrated with the lack of
change, begin to use ever more drastic measures to achieve their
goals.
Fortunately, so far, these radicalised individuals remain a
minority and their dangerous tactics are roundly condemned by most
opposition activists who rely on legitimate street protests to make
their case and grievances heard.
The danger though is that the activities of these militants will
only toughen the crackdown imposed by the Bahraini Government.
A petrol bomb was hurled at a car carrying Formula 1 staff
yesterday in protest at the sport's decision to go ahead with its
Grand Prix on Sunday.
And two weeks ago an improvised explosive device detonated near
a police checkpoint at the entrance of the Shi'ite village of Akr
in Bahrain, injuring seven policemen.
For now it's Bahrain's precious Grand Prix the government seems
to prioritise in efforts to improve its image in the eyes of the
international community.
The time has come for it to rethink those priorities. Until it
does so, Bahrain will remain locked on a political collision course
with dangerous consequences.
Click
here to have a go at our Bahrain Grand Prix protest
quiz.
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