Death amid protests in Bahrain

Now less than three weeks before the island kingdom is scheduled to host its return to formula one, bitter protests and violence have once again erupted in Bahrain.

Witnesses claim a 22-year-old man who was filming the firing of tear gas on protesters was shot and killed by state-supporting militia on Friday.

The death - reportedly the first since last year's troubles forced the cancellation of the 2011 race and test - intensified the clashes and calls for the forthcoming grand prix to be axed.

The government has denied it is responsible for the death.

"The ministry of interior will do all it can to find the criminal and bring him to justice," a spokesman is quoted as saying by the Times of London.

The ministry also confirmed that Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has been arrested.

He had said last week: "We are going to use the opportunities that a lot of journalists are there (for the grand prix) and we are going to protest everywhere."

The protests, however, continued.

"We (object to) holding a sports race that belittles the sacrifices of our children and ignores our suffering and wounds," said a video statement posted on the internet by a protester.

"Do not tarnish the reputation of the respected auto sport with the blood of Bahrain victims."

And on Twitter, the hashtags #BloodyF1 and #noF1 are being used to protest against the race and link to graphic photos and videos purporting to depict government violence.

Source: Motorsport.com

Shocking and tragic, if true about the death. Bad enough they arrested the head of their human rights organisation for having the temerity to protest.

Not that any of this will both Bernie Ecclestone one bit. As long as the organisers cough up the money everything's peachy, as far as he's concerned.

I actually hope the protests do continue and intensify to the point the race has to be cancelled again (though of course I don't wish any more deaths). Might wake the money-men up to the fact that some things matter more than profits.

Labour MP Richard Burden has joined calls for the Bahrain Grand Prix to be cancelled, amid fresh concerns about the ongoing political trouble in the Gulf island state.

Former world champion Damon Hill said this week that the FIA should rethink the hosting of the Sakhir race amid the continued unrest in the kingdom.

Burden, who under the last government was a special advisor to the Minister of Sport, Richard Caborn, on motorsport, has backed Hill's view.

"Damon Hill is right to call on the governing body of motor sport to rethink its decision to go ahead with this year's Bahrain Grand Prix," Burden wrote in a column for the Huffington Post.

"I say that as someone who is a motor sport nut as well as an MP with a keen interest in the Middle East.

"In a context where genuine and sustainable reform is taking place, holding a Grand Prix could be a unifying event for the people of Bahrain as well as a positive showcase on the world stage. But things are not at that stage.

"Since February last year, 45 people have died on Bahrain's streets. The latest victim was killed by live ammunition only last week. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the cemetery near his home outside the capital, Manama. Reports say riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades into the crowds, setting off running street clashes.

Although Burden is convinced the Bahrain government will do everything possible to make sure F1 is not affected by the situation, he reckons grand prix racing's reputation will be badly harmed.

"No doubt the Bahrain authorities will move heaven and earth to minimise any risks to the teams taking part," he said. "But the long term damage to the reputation of F1 and motor sport in general could be considerable.

"In hindsight, the FIA should not have scheduled the 2012 race so early in the season. It was always going to be too early to know how far things had moved on in Bahrain since last year. F1 can't turn the clock back but, with three weeks to go before the race, it can still rethink. It should do so."

Can't really add much to that.

Whether its safe to hold the race or not, the fact remains the authorities are guilty of gross abuses of their power and F1's reputation will (or should) be damaged by association with those kind of people.

Fine, they missed the boat with China, in terms of taking the moral high ground, but there's always a time to draw a line in the sand (pun intended) and say "This has gone far enough".

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said that he cannot force teams to race in the Bahrain Grand Prix if they do not want to go, amid growing concerns over further unrest in the troubled Gulf state.

F1's teams have so far backed the FIA and the Sakhir circuit chiefs to make the right decision as to whether the event should take place on April 22, and to ensure the safety of attending personnel. However some teams are known to have concerns about racing in Bahrain at this time.

Ecclestone, who has reportedly met with protest leaders and proposed they hold a press conference on the weekend of the grand prix, told The Times on Monday that he sympathised with the teams' situation and said: "If the teams don't want to go, then we cannot make them."

According to Ecclestone, the decision to cancel or postpone the race must come from the FIA, the event organisers or the Crown Prince of the kingdom.

The fate of the Bahrain GP seems set to overshadow this weekend's race in China, with the FIA stating that it is closely monitoring the situation. Concerns heightened on Monday, when a homemade bomb was detonated at a protest in Manama - injuring seven policemen.

The incident came amid increased tension caused by the fate of jailed activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who has been on hunger strike for two months.

Meanwhile, John Yates, a former assistant commissioner in the London Metropolitan Police Service who now works for Bahrain's Interior Ministry, has warned that protestors planning to disrupt the event's running would be dealt with harshly.

"If people want to protest lawfully and give proper notice, as they have to, then they will be allowed to protest," Yates told the Associated Press. "But you can't have a protest that shuts off every road and doesn't allow people to get to the grand prix circuit.

"If someone chooses to invade the circuit, what an incredibly stupid and reckless thing to do.

"You saw what happened in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race over the weekend. Anyone who invades the circuit is putting themselves in danger, putting the drivers in danger, putting potentially other spectators in danger. That will be clamped down on and properly so."

Source: Autosport

I'm surprised Bernie hasn't threatened to withhold race money from the teams, or something, if they decide to pull out.

I would love the FIA to "do the right thing" and cancel.

Shocked and disappointed that a former British police officer has anything to do with a regime like that and is actually coming out with comments like that. The best protests (the ones that attract attention and make the news) are ones that cause disruptions.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that anyone should put themselves and other people at risk by invading the circuit - that is stupid and reckless. But keeping protesters bottled away in a quiet corner where no-one will see or hear them smacks of heavy-handed dictatorship (not surprising, really).

dyrewolfe wrote:I'm surprised Bernie hasn't threatened to withhold race money from the teams, or something, if they decide to pull out.

I would love the FIA to "do the right thing" and cancel.

Ah but he has!

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted F1 teams will breach their contracts if they do not race in Bahrain next weekend.

Earlier, as the controversy surrounding the sport's continued plans to travel to the troubled island Kingdom deepens, an unnamed team boss admitted his peers would prefer if the event was called off.

The Times newspaper then quoted F1 chief executive Ecclestone as saying that "If the teams don't want to go, then we cannot make them".

"We've no way we can force people to go there," he also told the PA Sport news agency on Tuesday.

But in actual fact, teams are contractually bound to race at each event on the F1 calendar, with breaches punishable by exclusion from the sport.

"We can't say 'you've got to go' - although they would be in breach of their agreement with us if they didn't go - but it doesn't help," the 81-year-old clarified.

"Commercially they have to go, but whether they decide to or not is up to them," said Ecclestone.

"I've had no one say anything other than 'we're going to be racing in Bahrain'."

He said the local race organisers, and the national sanctioning body, are the ones that could cancel the race.

F1's governing body, meanwhile, is the FIA.

"I've spoken to (FIA president) Mr (Jean) Todt," Ecclestone revealed, "we keep in close contact, and he's going out there (to China), so we'll have a chat then, and we always meet with the teams."

It also emerged on Tuesday that Ecclestone has phoned Dr Ala'a Shehabi, a prominent Bahraini journalist and activist.

She revealed that Ecclestone wants Bahrain's government opposition to "have a press conference" at the grand prix "in which opposition can get their message across".

Shehabi said Ecclestone is "very concerned" about the situation in Bahrain, including the fate of human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who amid his hunger strike in jail is said to be close to death.

source: Motorsport.com

It has to be boycotted by the F1 teams, if all the teams agree to it then what’s the worst Bernie can do?

Ban them all! Good luck with that one Bernie.

Its time someone stood up to the little poisoned dwarf, I won't be watching it if it goes ahead and IMO will only damage the image of F1 if it does.

Unfortunately the FIA has bottled it and said the race can go ahead.

Bahrain GP to go ahead as planned, FIA confirms

Bernie Ecclestone is predictably rubbing his hands with glee and along with the Bahrain royal family, sweeping all the problems under the carpet.

That's it then, I'm boycotting the rest of the season.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17767985 - latest

It's Safe because Bernie said so! Why doubt the money grabbing dwarf?

This event shouldn't be going ahead.

Was jsut about to post that too John.

I agree this should NOT be going ahead.

But hey, Jenson trusts decision - does he, or what he made to say that.. if he does then why on earth does he??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17761734

Critical_mass wrote:Was jsut about to post that too John.

I agree this should NOT be going ahead.

But hey, Jenson trusts decision - does he, or what he made to say that.. if he does then why on earth does he??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17761734

Another interesting snippet of news I found out during the commentary of the Chinese GP is that the Bahrain royal family apparently owns a 50% stake in McLaren, so I'm guessing they have to openly back the race, regardless of what they may think personally.

Within the paddock Bahrain has a stake in McLaren. Its sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat owns 42 per cent of the McLaren Group and 50 per cent of McLaren Automotive, the company’s road car division.

Webber voices concerns over timing of F1 race in Bahrain

Just read the BBC article myself and am wholly disgusted at the FIA, Bernie Ecclestone and everyone who was involved in making the decision to go ahead with the race, when every rational person could see it was patently unsafe for them to be there. The Force India guys were lucky this time, but who's to say there won't be further incidents? Don't blame the ones who wanted to return home in the slightest.

dyrewolfe wrote:
Another interesting snippet of news I found out during the commentary of the Chinese GP is that the Bahrain royal family apparently owns a 50% stake in McLaren, so I'm guessing they have to openly back the race, regardless of what they may think personally.

Oh really, that is very interesting. hmmmm

Bahrain's grand prix chief on Thursday played down the incident that caused a member of the Force India team to pull out of the event.

The team member was granted permission by Force India chiefs to head back to the UK, after a rented van carrying his colleagues was caught up in a Molotov cocktail attack on the return trip from the circuit late on Wednesday.

"They weren't targeted. They just happened to be there," said the Sakhir circuit's chairman Zayed R Alzayani, according to the BBC.

"It could happen in any place in the world really, getting caught up in a riot or a fight or anything."

He admitted there will "probably" be more incidents before the weekend is out.

"I don't think they will be within the track or close to the track, and I think they will be handled in the right way."

As for his advice to race-goers, Alzayani insisted: "Don't be too worried and too distracted not to enjoy the weekend."

In a provided media statement on Thursday, the Bahrain International Circuit said Force India was caught up in an "isolated incident".

I think its irrelevant if htey were targetted or not. There's clearly unrest and the F1 Circus arriving in town will only make things worse.

Will be interesting to see how full the stands will be.

They weren't targeted. They just happened to be there," said the Sakhir circuit's chairman Zayed R Alzayani, according to the BBC.

"It could happen in any place in the world really, getting caught up in a riot or a fight or anything."

Seriously, does he expect ANYONE to believe that garbage?

He admitted there will "probably" be more incidents before the weekend is out.

Nice to see at least a nugget of honesty there.

Is Bernie even turning up for the weekend, his daughter is apparently doing the London marathon or something along those lines and he's going to be there instead on sunday. I'm still laughing at his ridiculous comments a few days ago, 'Bahrain is safe, all quiet and peaceful'........seriously this guy is a disgrace. I want to see a race but not if there is a heightened risk to the whole F1 community. There is more attacks to be expected. We need a new F1 boss who actually sticks around on a sunday to watch the races instead of hopping on a chopper and going home.

Goodness his daughter must be about 55, good for her for running a marathon.

It is very sad that people think more about dinky toys racing round a track to the tune of dodgy money than for basic human rights.

From John (moved to correct thread)

Doon, I've never seen you post on here before and I can understand why you are angry about them racing, as we are too, due to the circumstances and the danger the F1 community is exposed too. However a decision has been made, therefore the grand prix will go ahead. To be honest, the media was always going to be all over this story and overhyping anything that occurs with the teams in terms of attacks. Vettel and co. actually seem quite relaxed regarding the situation and just want to get to work. I'm quite offended by your 'dinky toys' comment and therefore straight away understand that you know nothing about F1 or the advanced technology these machines have underneath them. If you don't like the fact there racing then don't watch it but I'm thoroughly looking forward to another competitive race with a world title fully up for grabs, irrespective of what's apparently going on in Bahrain.

Fernando
You are correct I know nothing about FI, a car is a car as far as I am concerned, turn the key and the engine goes, I'm happy.

I don't think the race will take place.
I think there will be quite a bit of blood on quite a few hands by the end of this week.
This event is a firework looking for a match.

Doon the Water wrote:Fernando
You are correct I know nothing about FI, a car is a car as far as I am concerned, turn the key and the engine goes, I'm happy.

I don't think the race will take place.
I think there will be quite a bit of blood on quite a few hands by the end of this week.
This event is a firework looking for a match.

Was John's comment from the other thread Doon was just copying and pasted into correct place

firstly doon, i agree the weekend shouldnt have gone ahead.

but i do think the race will go ahead. They've taken the teams over there, unpacked and ran fp1 and 2. i dont htink they'll now decide for them not to race. will be interesting to see how full the stands are though.

Fernando, I did not see that post so you can rest assured that two folk think alike.

I will be giving this event a miss. It's difficult to think about motorsport when there are people being shot at and imprisoned etc just a few "yards" away. However, Britain has still been sending arms etc to the Bahraini government, so I am in two minds who deserves the most opprobrium - Ecclestone for bringing F1 to Bahrain, or Cameron plus other "world" leaders who are supporting the Bahraini government with military supplies etc.

Bah(r)ain: ... A man has been found dead with gunshot wounds in Bahrain after overnight clashes with police, activists say, a day before Sunday's F1 Grand Prix.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17796833

Nore Staat wrote:I will be giving this event a miss. It's difficult to think about motorsport when there are people being shot at and imprisoned etc just a few "yards" away. However, Britain has still been sending arms etc to the Bahraini government, so I am in two minds who deserves the most opprobrium - Ecclestone for bringing F1 to Bahrain, or Cameron plus other "world" leaders who are supporting the Bahraini government with military supplies etc.

Just to take this slightly off-topic, thats the sad thing about much of the Arab Spring. Do a little digging (or just follow the news) and you'll realise that at some point the leaders who are being such despots now are the same governments we were so friendly with not so long ago.

Have to agree with Nore Stat- this stinks to high heaven and that obnoxious, ugly, money grabbing, little merde-head Ecclestone should be forced to face the protestors.

I've just returned from Bahrain and it was peaceful and quiet. If we are going to talk about human rights and safety then the following races need to be removed from the calendar; China, India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

People are complaining about the governments attempt to keep the peace and they are justified. But the people who are trying to overthrow the government are extremists, same with the group in Egypt and Libya.

The press need to be careful about what they are reporting because they are feeding the frenzy.

Cancelling this race is a victory for the extremists and whilst I'm not comfortable with it happening, I understand why the government is keen for it to go ahead

Belgarion of Riva wrote:I've just returned from Bahrain and it was peaceful and quiet. If we are going to talk about human rights and safety then the following races need to be removed from the calendar; China, India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

People are complaining about the governments attempt to keep the peace and they are justified. But the people who are trying to overthrow the government are extremists, same with the group in Egypt and Libya.

The press need to be careful about what they are reporting because they are feeding the frenzy.

Cancelling this race is a victory for the extremists and whilst I'm not comfortable with it happening, I understand why the government is keen for it to go ahead

Agree with the first part of your comment, but you need to read the news a little more closely. Many of the protesters in Egypt were Christians and the revolutions in Tunisia, Libya and Syria all began as public protests against the corruption or tyranny of the existing regimes. The only time you hear the words "extremists" or "terrorists" is in statments by said regimes.

Of course, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter and without knowing the full facts we can only speculate. However, its inadvisable to call these people "extremists" without detailed information as to why these uprisings started.

Shia villages in total military lockdown during the Formula One.

Channel four journalist, chased, captured and deported while his two Bahraini helpers are taken to a police detention centre for "questioning": http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17809811

Belgarion of Riva wrote: ... Cancelling this race is a victory for the extremists and whilst I'm not comfortable with it happening, I understand why the government is keen for it to go ahead

Are women and children extremists?
Are requests for democracy (government representation) extremist?
Would cancelling the race have spoiled your leisure time?
Are you more interested in your own personal wants to consider other peoples wants for representation, freedom of expression and dignity?

Belgarion of Riva wrote:... The press need to be careful about what they are reporting because they are feeding the frenzy.

Did it spoil your breakfast?
Are you a believer of freedom of movement and freedom to report?

[quote="Nore Staat"]

Belgarion of Riva wrote: ... Cancelling this race is a victory for the extremists and whilst I'm not comfortable with it happening, I understand why the government is keen for it to go ahead
Are women and children extremists?

Yes they can be, I've seen it first hand. Soldiers have been killed by people you would least expect to be dangerous.

Nore Staat wrote: Are requests for democracy (government representation) extremist?

No, requests for democracy are not extremist but what do you get when the dust settles? In Iran the Shah got deposed, we got the Imams, in Afghanistan we got The Taliban, in Palestine we got Hamas, in Egypt we've got extremists; do you see a pattern here?

Nore Staat wrote:
Would cancelling the race have spoiled your leisure time?

That's a silly comment to make, holding the race actually brought more attention to the issues in Bahrain which was a good thing. Sports and politics should be kept apart.

Nore Staat wrote: Are you more interested in your own personal wants to consider other peoples wants for representation, freedom of expression and dignity?

I've been in Bahrain recently in spite of all that's been going on and know far more about this than your current pretend outrage. Individuals should be allowed representation, freedom of expression and dignity. If the country was run by lets say the Taliban, would they be able to protest?

[quote="Nore Staat"]

Belgarion of Riva wrote:... The press need to be careful about what they are reporting because they are feeding the frenzy.
Did it spoil your breakfast?

Nope, I had quite a hearty breakfast. The press in this country has already displayed irresponsibility and corruption so forgive me if I'm not a great believer in their abilities. They also did a hatchet job on South Africa and the world cup, which was shameful to see.

Nore Staat wrote:Are you a believer of freedom of movement and freedom to report?

Yes I am, but I also believe we should have responsible reporting and tell both sides of the story and keep our noses out of the affairs of other people.

Take Syria for example, not enough oil, no action, people are being killed everyday. Where's your outrage?????????

Hi Belgarion of Riva - thanks for clarifying your position, I am sure it is one shared by many but certainly not by all.

Anyway I think maybe my earlier post has been overlooked, which I do believe is news worthy.

Nore Staat wrote:Shia villages in total military lockdown during the Formula One.

Channel four journalist, chased, captured and deported while his two Bahraini helpers are taken to a police detention centre for "questioning": http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17809811

Nore Staat wrote:Hi Belgarion of Riva - thanks for clarifying your position, I am sure it is one shared by many but certainly not by all.

Anyway I think maybe my earlier post has been overlooked, which I do believe is news worthy.

Nore Staat wrote:Shia villages in total military lockdown during the Formula One.

Channel four journalist, chased, captured and deported while his two Bahraini helpers are taken to a police detention centre for "questioning": http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17809811

I'm not saying Bahrain is perfect. Far from it but there needs to be fair and balanced reporting. The press get us so riled about issues but ask yourself this question; our government has been democratically elected but their policies are not for the people, by the people or of the people (except rich people of course). We also have a monarchy like Bahrain does, admitted ours are more or less powerless.

There are crimes going on in this country every single day and we are involved in crimes all over the world, helping topple governments we do not like, doing deals with dodgy regimes and selling weapons and technology to Bahrain (the country we are all so upset about).

So, humour me if I do not take the mock outrage seriously. If we cared so much about liberty and the rule of law, we would never have gone to Iraq.

Belgarion of Riva wrote: ... So, humour me if I do not take the mock outrage seriously. If we cared so much about liberty and the rule of law, we would never have gone to Iraq.

A) It's your use of "mock outrage" that I find concerning. There are "real issues" on the ground. If you were a Shia villager in Bahrain (its the majority that don't have political representation) would you be happy to describe this condition as "mock outrage"?
B) Your moral relativism is also of concern - e.g. people die in country A therefore one should not report on people dieing/protesting in country B.
C) You ignoring the channel four report is also revealing.

You are criticising the fact there is reporting of things beyond the F1 grand prix, i.e., you seem to be supporting reporting censorship, which is a step beyond where most people sharing your view would go.

I'm not saying that at all. Are you from Bahrain? If you are, great, give us some more insight into this issue. I just came from there and didn't see any trouble whilst I was there.

You also need to understand the difference between Shiites and Sunni muslims then you will fully understand this complex issue. Iran is ruled by Shiites by the way.

I'm not asking anyone to censor the press, I'm asking the press to report the news from both sides.

I find it amusing that our press is waving the banner of injustice somewhere else whilst ignoring the injustice going on here. It's also amusing politicians are complaining about Bahrain whilst selling them arms and ignoring Syria.

What I'm saying is that we should keep our noses out of the internal affairs of nations, sort our issues out and report the news. Not try to make it up as we go along.

Shiite's I agree are a minority in the muslim nation and need to be protected but radical islam and extremisim is mostly from that brand of Islam. So I can understand the Bahraini's government position.

This is a very complex problem and you need to have all the facts before you jump in like we did in Iraq