Last chance to make a stand for human rights in Bahrain. Love of sport or love of people.
SIGN THE PETITION No F1 in brutal Bahrain This is avaaz.org and has 275,000 UPDATE 320,000(It is empowering to see the signatures from around the world in real time as they happen) especially when they come from Bahrain realizing what they are risking.
Another is Human Rights First with unknown number Stop idling--don’t give Bahrain the Grand Prix
Activists said: “Do the Formula One authorities and the brands that support them really want to be associated with a Bahraini government that seizes people in the middle of the night and tortures them? With disappearances and deaths in custody?”
It further read, “Awarding the Grand Prix to the repressive regime will disappoint Formula One fans everywhere. We call on you to declare publicly that you won't race in Bahrain this year, because the government has killed and injured hundreds of innocent people standing up for their rights.”
I am happy to report that the comments on this blog are predominantly "Cancel It".
It is reassuring to see people who love their sport so much also favor human rights.
FIA’s Bahrain decision looming, Hill warns
Bahrain government loses either way. The pro democracy groups have successfully used the race to expose the human rights atrocity’s that are going on there.
A few years ago SpeedTV had this great camera shot of people on black Arabian horses watching the race. We thought it looked it looked beautiful. It was one of the races my wife and I were really going to try to go to.
Needless to say it is now the last Grand Prix we would ever think of going to.
Bahraini activists speak against Grand Prix reschedule before decision on Friday – Formula 1
Bahraini activists speak against Grand Prix reschedule before decision on Friday – Formula 1
Bahraini activists have once again spoken against the race being scheduled in the struggling kingdom in the 2011 Formula 1 season.
The decision on Bahrain’s future is due on Friday, June 3, 2011 and just before the decision, the activists and human rights protestors have shown the true picture of the Bahraini government.
The statement from the officials read, “Do the Formula One authorities and the brands that support them really want to be associated with a Bahraini government that seizes people in the middle of the night and tortures them? With disappearances and deaths in custody?”
It further read, “Awarding the Grand Prix to the repressive regime will disappoint Formula One fans everywhere. We call on you to declare publicly that you won't race in Bahrain this year, because the government has killed and injured hundreds of innocent people standing up for their rights.”
These statements from the activists have come out just in time as the decision is due on Friday when the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council takes place in Barcelona.
Before this statement, for the first time Bahraini race officials stated that they were in a position to host a race in the Kingdom as the conditions were back to normal.
Initially, Bahrain was to be the season opener for the 2011 season in March but was called off due to political unrest in the country. Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was committed to the nation and stated that the race will be scheduled in Bahrain as soon as the conditions are back to normal.
However, all the Formula 1 teams have already voiced against the Bahrain race being reinstated in the 2011 season.
IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT AS TO THE BRUTALITY READ HOW THEY HAVE TREATED THE GRAND PRIX STAFF AND REPORTERS
London Independent:
Bahrain lobbies to retain Grand Prix as Formula One staff are held and abused
Of the 108 local staff of the government-owned Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), which hosts Formula One, some 28 were detained and mistreated according to a source in Bahrain close to the event. All of those arrested are Shia and have since been sacked. Five of these are still in prison including the chief financial officer Jaafar Almansoor, an employee of BIC told Reuters news agency.
"They made us beat and kick each other," said the employee, who did not want to be named, describing their 20 days in detention. "They said they'd rape us. They tried to touch you in various places to make you think it's going to happen." The prisoners were insulted for being Shia and, on being released, were told not to talk to the media.
Details of mistreatment of women in custody are often difficult to obtain because victims of abuse are ashamed to admit they were threatened with rape or otherwise humiliated.
One of the most graphic, which also illustrates the Bahraini authorities' wish to intimidate journalists, comes from Nazeeha Saeed, the Bahraini correspondent of France 24 television and Radio Monte Carlo in testimony given to Reporters Without Borders.
Summoned to a police station on 22 May, Ms Saeed was accused by a female officer of "lying" in her reports and having links to the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah television station al-Manar and the Iranian Arabic station Al-Alam. She was grabbed by the jaw, slapped, punched and kicked by four police women, one of whom screamed: "You must tell the truth." Another took off her shoe and forced it into Ms Saeed's mouth saying: "You are worth less than this shoe."
She was then dragged to another office and forced to kneel on a chair, facing the back of the chair, exposing her back and the soles of her feet which were beaten with flexible black plastic tubing. She was accused of lying and "harming Bahrain's image".
During a later interrogation session Ms Saeed was blindfolded and told to bray like a donkey and walk like an animal. She was beaten again. At this point one police woman held a plastic bottle against her mouth and shouted: "Drink, it's urine."
Ms Saeed knocked the bottle aside and it fell to the floor but the police woman picked it up and poured what was left in the bottle on her face. She says she is not certain the liquid was urine but it stung her skin.
After a further round of beating, she was sent back to wait in a room with other women. They were allowed to go to the toilet and brought food. Later the head of the police station asked to see Ms Saeed and, claiming not to know that she had been interrogated, allowed her to phone her mother and go home.
Nobody, however prominent in business or otherwise appears safe from arbitrary arrest. Ghazi Farhan, an executive in a property company who also owns three restaurants and a riding stable, was arrested in his office carpark on 12 April by plain clothes police and since then has only had two brief telephone conversations with his family.
His wife, Ala'a Shehabi, has been prevented from leaving Bahrain despite repeated representations by the Foreign Office.
FIA’s Bahrain decision looming, Hill warns More comments here
The F1 series finds itself in a very difficult situation. We’ve explored many sides of the issue here at F1B and the overwhelming consensus from F1 fans is to give the race a miss this year and see what 2012 brings for the government and its people. The politically charged environment has now focused solely on the F1 race as a possible flashpoint to get the message out to the world that Bahrain protestors are being oppressed and even killed in their pursuit of democracy.
The kingdom of Bahrain lifted the martial law this past week and according to Reuters, police are patrolling to quell any pro-democracy protests. The allegation by protestors is that the emergency law was lifted ahead of the FIA’s decision date to possibly return to Bahrain for the race later this year. The insinuation was to lift the law and give the appearance that everything is fine and normal in the nation of Bahrain.
As Reuters points out, the nation of Bahrain seems to be the frontline in the power struggle between Shi’ite fueled Iran and Sunni-ruled dynasties that are allied with Iran. The Arab Spring has certainly added political gravitas to the Middle East and F1 seems to be caught in the middle.
Ironically the series, who claims to be apolitical, has become a symbol of normalcy so preciously desired by the Bahrain government while protestors would seek to use the event to show the oppression, alleged killing, trials and incarceration of democracy-seeking citizens. Not what F1 really needs in order to remain apolitical.
As we mentioned here, F1 commercial rights boss Bernie Ecclestone made the first hint that F1 could stand with the people of Bahrain should news reports of human rights violations and killings be substantiated. The ongoing allegations of military trials and injustices continue as Reuters outlined a few of the cases:
Military trials of 21 mostly Shi’ite dissidents continue, but King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has offered new dialogue on reform with all sides, without spelling out its parameters. Zainab al-Khawaja, the daughter of one of the accused, was summoned by police on Thursday, but it was not clear if she would be referred to prosecutors. She held a hunger strike in April after her father was arrested and later charged, like the others, with seeking to overthrow the system.
Shi’ites staged small protests in several villages on Wednesday, despite checkpoints maintained by security forces. Internet footage posted by activists showed clashes involving tear gas. The government said its forces did not open fire.
Ayat al-Qurmuzi, a student, was due to appear at the first session of a military trial for reading out a poem at the Pearl Roundabout, the epicentre of the protests. The six minute-long poem, available on YouTube, called on the king and ruling Sunni Muslim Al-Khalifa family to implement reforms. Rights activist Nabeel Rajab said Qurmuzi was expected to be charged with insulting the king.
Several activists and opposition politicians, including Rajab and Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of the main Shi’ite group Wefaq, were called in for questioning on Tuesday before martial law ended, leaving the door open to future military trials.
The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) meets in Barcelona on Friday to make a final decision on whether to return the Bahrain this year or cancel the 2011 race altogether. The FIA’s decision could have serious implications but world champion Damon Hill has suggested that F1 not make the decision on bahrain about money, according to the Daily Mail:
‘There has to be a compromise. It is important that Formula One is not seen to be only interested in putting on the show, whatever the circumstances.
‘Formula One cannot put its head in the sand concerning the Bahrain Grand Prix because it is a very volatile situation out there and F1 is involved. Formula One, its teams, its drivers and its sponsors, has to stand for values which are positive and aspirational.
‘The ruling family in Bahrain have said they want to stage a race there, and we all do. But F1 must align itself with progression, not repression, and a lot of demonstrations in that country have been brutally repressed. You are either aware of that or you’re not.’
It’s a bold statement and one that Hill shares with many other F1 fans and pundits. It’s not a comfortable topic as Baharain and it’s royal family are heavily invested in F1 from the race promotion and circuit to actual investment in teams like McLaren. It’s not an easy topic and one can only assume that local protesters will use the race as a springboard to champion their cause. Bahrain would most likely have a serious police presence during the event and that’s not really the image the kingdom would want the rest of the world to see.
The most disappointing action is now the Hot Rod Association is joining Bahrain as F1 begins to move away
NHRA Adds Bahrain Track; FIA Mulls Grand Prix Fate
Just the Facts:
•The National Hot Rod Association has announced an affiliation with Bahrain International Circuit.
•Meanwhile, the FIA is expected to rule on the fate of the postponed Bahrain Grand Prix.
•Civil unrest in the region's wave of uprisings led to postponement of the grand prix in March.
LOS ANGELES — The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has added Bahrain International Circuit to its NHRA Worldwide Network of affiliated drag-racing facilities.
The announcement came Wednesday, almost in step with word from Europe that Formula 1's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), is expected to rule Friday whether to reschedule the F1 event at Bahrain, originally slated March 13 as the season opener.
The event was not conducted because of political protests and violence in the capital city of Manama, where Bahrain International Circuit is located.