The Bahrain government continued its heavy-handed treatment of the current crisis on Friday as its security forces again opened fire on crowds of protesters who defied a government ban and were marching towards the Pearl Roundabout. Reports from the hospital in Bahrain say that casualties had gunshot wounds. Aside from that it was a similar story with the security forces using extreme violence. It is not clear how many people have been killed on this occasion, but each new death makes the problem more difficult to solve and the likelihood of a full-scale revolution more likely. The protesters have long ago given up calls for reform and now simply want to throw out the government and each new attack seems to increase the resolve, as the protesters now have martyrs to be revenged. The government and its supporters continue to say that the problems are being caused by activists and that Bahrain’s freedom is under threat.
We hear, however, that not all the ruling class are in favour of the extreme measures being employed by the government and that creates the possibility that they might be convinced to depart in order to head off the problem created, and allow a new generation to introduce suitable reforms to calm the situation in Bahrain and to soothe the international community, which wishes to avoid a revolution at all costs because of the strategic importance of Bahrain. The US could relocate the 5th Fleet to another port, such as Jebel Ali, in the United Arab Emirates, and if that happened then Bahrain’s importance would reduce significantly. Whether the current rulers would leave of their accord is another question, but if they will not there would have to be a coup d’état and that would need to involve the Bahrain Defence Force, which is currently involved in curbing the protesters.
The F1 authorities are watching developments in Bahrain hoping that calm will return, but if it does not they must make a decision.
I suppose I am naïve, but my view on this is that F1 should already have told those concerned that there will be no Grand Prix in Bahrain – out of respect for those murdered by the state’s “security” apparatus, SS or NKVD if you like…
I’m afraid that times have changed and there can be no place for a “Cuban Grand Prix” in modern times.
As for all the business interests, I am sure that Force Majeure could be cited.
Seems the King asked his crown prince to have a go at talking to everyone and find a resolve.
If he manages to get everyone to sit down and really agree on a way out not featuring more violence, I suppose he does really deserve to be the next man on the throne.
Not much of a chance of that succeeding though.
BBC has just announced that the King has asked the Crown Prince to start a dialogue with all parties – the first sign of an sensible response to the crisis.
The formula 1 circus is made up of many hundreds of people – maybe even a couple of thousand. I’m one. Many of us are family people who do this because we love the sport. We leave our families for half of the year to go racing.
We’ve accepted the increasing danger of violent crime in Brazil over recent years. I’ve seen problems of relatively petty crime in Budapest, and last year there were a couple of isolated incidents in Bahrain.
Nevertheless, we’re not war journalists. We shouldn’t have to consider going into threatening environments to be part of our job.
We’re now waiting for the decision of one man in order to know whether we’re going to be sent into the midst of what could be a revolution. We don’t know whether our passports will be taken away. Even if it quietens down, we can’t know whether violence will flare up again while we’re there – perhaps as a result of the Grand Prix. So how can the decision be anything other than that the risk is simply not worth it.
In Bahrain, there is one hotel out near the circuit where some will stay – perhaps Bernie, some of the drivers and senior figures. They will be 30km away from the trouble. The rest of us have to stay in the middle of Manama at the epicentre of the trouble. It seems now impossible to know that everyone will be safe.
One hopes that this thought will be uppermost in Bernie’s mind when he makes the decision. Perhaps there are other commercial considerations for him – but even if there are, he has no right to put at risk the lives of those who devote those lives to his formula 1.
Surely at the moment the position of any sane mind is “hell no, were not going to do an F1 race there.”, and they (Bernie, the teams) are just waiting to see if the oppression will be good enough for the F1 circus to show up and perform unharmed.
Well, at least that’s a lawyerly definition of “sane” which will focus on contract obligation and ignoring the political and moral truth on the ground, defending that ignorance by saying “we are neutral”. And “we were contractually bound.”.
I wonder, if Bernie decides “the show will go on”, whether individual teams could have a case by saying “Force Majeure” for refusing to go there on the basis of the dangerous situation. I suppose a Foreign Office Travel advice is sufficient excuse in the eyes of a judge. And surely insurance contracts have small print somewhere saying, “if you defy a governmental travel advice, you’re on your own, mate.”.
Of course since a large percentage of McLaren is owned by the Bahraini government, Ron and Martin are in a bit of trouble if they wanted a boycott.
I ramble, but another bit of interest is, I wonder how the supercar-makers will fare after a significant percentage of their market is taken down by popular revolutions.
At least they’ll still have the Paris Hilton birthday presents market.
Nice post SteveM. Well said
Don’t go, Joe…
I think they should be cancelling the Bahrain gp. What they have fond to their own people is despicable.
A message needs to be sent to the rulers, that this sort of behaviour and treating their own people like this is not acceptable. I read an article by a reporter from the ny times who was told of a protester being handcuffed then shot in the head. I don’t care what peoples views are on democracy. But that is beyond contempt.
If it gets cancelled that would be better, but if not I will not be watching. Bernie needs to tale action on this, and forget about golden chequebooks for just once.
Currently the Salamynia hospital in Manama has become the focal point of the protests with more than 2,000 people now demonstrating in the hospital grounds. One of the wounded men apparently died at the hospital and two more casualties are expected from seriously wounded. It is unknown if further victims of the military intervention exist because ambulances are denied access to Pearl roundabout.
There is no way that the race can go ahead if the main hospital of Bahrain is filled with civil war casualties and becomes the main demonstration ground. What would happen if a driver had an accident and the medical staff is still blocked in the Salamynia hospital and cannot man the circuit medical center. Evacuation to the hospital would also be impossible if it continues to be filled above capacity with victims.
Isn’t all of this supposed to be fun and entertaining? Seems far from it. Good luck Steve; hopefully you and Joe will get a hall pass for this event.
well Bernie will be taking his circus there for money to say the least…but the least that journalists can do is not cover the race..if publicity is denied for the event ( as opposed to reporting the race ) it just might serve some cause….and those who say F1 is apolitical is a load of bull rubbish…
Been keeping an eye on the news from BBC and Al-Jeezra, surely there is no way F1 can go to Bahrain now unless there’s a dramatic intervention on policy by the King and the Crown Prince.
The Foreign Office have revoked export licences and the UK Government has condemned the reaction to protests. F1 shouldn’t be seen to be accepting of such behaviour.
SteveM goes into some of the nuts and bolts of what I was saying on a previous thread on the subject. F1 cannot subject the safety of the people associated with the GP. Today Bernie downplays his remarks from yesterday. This is lunacy to even be speculating on. This is just insane. The race needs to be canceled, without question. End of story.
Joe, you would be silly to go. We need you. You are a rare thing in F1, a journo with integrity. Stay home.
There is a chance in here for more people than just Bernie to show what they are made of. Anybody who does not feel it would put their job and their livelihood/family’s security at risk is in a position to take an ethical stance on this race, if it should go ahead. And indeed to lobby for it not to take place in the first place. In particular there are 24 extremely privileged young men, at least half of them irreplaceable in terms of either skill or money, who could take a stand if they wished. Will the GPDA meet during the current test to discuss this issue?
How many broadcasters could put the pressure on? As SteveM says, their employees are not war correspondents, and besides that the BBC in particular will be entering a political minefield if the race goes ahead. How many sponsors can pressure their teams? What does Hugo Chavez think of his branding debuting at the Bahrain regime’s flagship event?
“Bernie will decide” is not good enough. There are powerful people and organizations involved here and they can draw their own lines.
Who is the head of the security forces in Bahrain?
I think a Coup D’etat is unlikely, because the security forces are largely Sunni foreigners given Bahraini citizenship by the Royal Family to try and dilute the Shia population. (I think it’s that way round). So the army’s interest is purely to preserve the status quo
[...] were recalled to Manama to assist the injured. The riot police had started using live bullets in addition to the tear gas and batons used previously. Clearly, it was dangerous for the GP2 Asia people to remain in Manama and there was no prospect of [...]
[...] Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/more-of-the-same-in-bahrain/ [...]