Bahrain Grand Prix - MP group says Bahrain should go ahead
An All-Party Group from the British parliament has expressed its disagreement with calls to cancel the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Last week, members of the House of Lords wrote to the FIA to urge the governing body to cancel April's Grand Prix amid continued unrest in the kingdom.
In another letter published by The Times today, the UK-Bahrain All-Party Parliamentary Group said it believes that the grand prix is an incentive for Bahrain to prove "its sincerity in the cause of reform" of the country. The letter argues that the cancellation of the grand prix would do the cause of reform "no service".
All-Party Groups are informal cross-party groups that have no official status within parliament.
"Bahrain has been conveniently lumped together with other nations and labelled part of the 'Arab Spring'," the group said in a letter published by The Times.
"Yet the response of the government of Bahrain has been notably different. Bahrain invited independent human rights lawyers, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), to investigate and has started to implement its recommendations.
"In addition to elections that have led to a four-fold increase in women elected to parliament, Bahrain has also asked John Timoney, the former New York police chief, and John Yates, the former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, to overhaul policing, Sir Daniel Bethlehem, the FCO's former principal legal adviser, to review judicial processes, and opened detention facilities for inspection by the Red Crescent.
"Those who want Bahrain to continue on the path of genuine reform will do the cause no service by cancelling the Grand Prix this year.
"Indeed, surely the presence of thousands of Western visitors and journalists in the run-up to and during the event will act as an additional incentive to the authorities in Bahrain to show the international community its sincerity in the cause of reform and that their support for Bahrain is well placed?"
Meanwhile, violence escalated on the anniversary of last year's uprising. The BBC reports that security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters who gathered in the kingdom's capital Manama.
Comment 6 - 25 of 25
It is totally disgracefull that any one with the slightest morals would go to Bahrain.
Well said, P! Right on target. It's all about money and the $saudi-bahraini mobsters are more than happy to buy respect from UK.
For profit and self interest our politicians are happy to say/do anything! But when it comes to Syria and others the same politicians are happy to preach freedom, independence, human rights, equality and democracy among many other weird and wonderful meaningless and empty words!! Yet, we are happy to push arms to rebels in any country for profit and self interest!!
I think Bernie should take F1 to Syria, Iran, Zimbabwe and Libya too!! After all, it's all about giving what people want to see and promoting freedom, human rights and democracy isn't it not!!
There is no true freedom especially of speech in any country we are all just pawns to the bourgeois ruling "elite" who impose their twisted will on all. and that is all political persuasions.
#13 What are you blabbering about NATO for you moron? Get with the programme son, forget your infantile prejudices and spare a thought one year on for those Bahrainis who have been jailed, beaten, abused and the families of those who have died. It is an outrage that these MPs are using their paid-for jolly to suggest such a despicable regime should host a world class sporting event. I know Bernie and his banker friends are also inhuman, greedy corrupt, swine, but even they must see their position with regard to the race going ahead just to pay their bloated fees is shameful surely? But being bankers, probably not. I expect they are investing in Bahraini rubber truncheon manufacturers as we speak.
oooh looks like some backhanders have been swapped and passed around. F**king politicians
The UK-Bahrain All-Party Parliamentary Group (who)?
Let the people of Bahrain decide...
There are still many questions to answer. Read the final paragraph of the article above.
well, its no worse than India, who send rockets to space, while millions are starving and living in slums. where's the human rights in that?
They'd have had a different opinion if they'd been smacked over their heads by rubber truncheons and then teargassed. But then that treatment is reserved for the plebs, not the over-privileged & pampered.
Once again MP's interfering in a sporting matter, if the morals of the teams decide its better to not go then thats how it should be, and while they are at it apply the same morals to china etc.
@3...I pointed out in another post how ironic it was that in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, that a democracy has used teargas, riot weapons, to try to forcibly evict thousands of dispossessed, homeless people from their homes, they are currently under seige, and no outside observers are allowed anywhere near, young, and old are at in fear of their lives, this is also a place where the famous interlagos circuit is close by, I question the focus on Bahrain, there are many instances of this globally, but not many have the media attention...
FEBRUARY 13, 2012 F.! NEWS.
Pressure on Bahrain increases
Tomorrow sees the first anniversary of the Shia uprising in Bahrain that resulted in a number of deaths and almost 3000 arrests.
The opening round of last year's F1 world championship fell victim to the internal strife and pressure is building on the FIA to cancel this year's race, round 4 of the 2012 championship, scheduled for April 22.
Last week in Bahrain, a 51 year-old Briton, Peter Morrissey, had two fingers cut off with a sword by a gang blocking a road in Karranah, near Manama.
Government authorities, however, have claimed that other accusations of attacks on expatriates have been fabricated and deny that foreign journalists are being denied access to the country ahead of the February 14 anniversary of the trouble.
FIA president Jean Todt was a recent visitor to Bahrain, accompanied by 1996 world champion Damon Hill.
On his return, Hill said: "I was frustrated last year that F1 did not raise its voice against what was happening. But a lot has changed there since then.
"It is clear that the situation in Bahrain is better understood and I don't think anyone would want to go back to Bahrain if there was suffering just because of a grand prix. I listened to a lot of people there, including eye-witnesses. I believe they are making change for the better."
Last Friday, however, a number of British peers co-signed a letter published in The Times newspaper in the UK. It read:
"Sir, We note with concern the decision by Formula One to go ahead with the race in Bahrain scheduled for April.
"The continued political crisis in Bahrain is a troubling source of instability in the Gulf region, and the lack of any move towards political reconciliation concerns those who wish to see Bahrain move in the direction of greater democratic accountability.
NATO doesn't want cameras around, they could see thehuman and war crimes they are committing.
The Guardian today. 14th April. 2012. U.K. BAHRAIN STILL GET U.K. EQUIPMENT.
Britain sold over £1m worth of weapons including rifles and artillery to Gulf kingdom during unrest.
Could this have anything to do with the M.P. Groups decision?
If it goes ahead I'm hoping it will be one televised by Sky and not the BBC. I don't think I could suffer watching such a boring race ever again. Any MPs watching will think they are back in parliament and will probably fall asleep as usual!.
Have they been offered free tickets flights etc, when will these people actually listen to the views of the rest of us and do what we want as opposed to what they think is right (WRONG!) Bernie's tentacles reach way too far these days!
Proof that MPs are greedy corrupt scum
You people moaning plenty of countries have problems how for instance is india hosting a gp amidst rampant poverty china is one of the worst human rights vioalaters going but every year the f1 circus rolls into town sport should be kept seperate from polotics. And i beleive human rights have gone to far anyway trhe hr act in europe is a jke and seems only to allow mass imigration and criminals to get new identeties and tax payer funded body guards
How is boycotting (or not) a sporting event ever going to further the cause of the ordinary Bahraini or their government? Can anyone explain?
Yes of course they say that, everyone knows that the rich Arabs have at least one corrupt politician in their pocket, there should be a commision set up to look at each of these Politicians to see how much has gone in to a Swiss Bank account for giving a Rose coloured view of this Despotic regime.
Where do these Politicians think Alqueda gets all its finance?
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