British MPs Call for Bahrain GP Cancellation

[OverTake.gg]

A group of British MPs have requested that the Bahrain Grand Prix be cancelled, due to concerns about safety for personnel at the event.



Protests coincide with protests against the nation's monarchy began last Friday, and are planned to continue into the weekend.

Last year, the race was deemed safe for F1 personnel by the FIA. However, 2011's meeting was cancelled due to violent protests, where 35 people lost their lives.

A letter sent to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Democracy in Bahrain said "We request you cancel the Grand Prix."

"It is likely to attract as much negative publicity as last year."

The APPG also wrote to broadcasters, sponsors & teams alike, raising awareness about the potential danger & misfortune in the country during this tense period.

Twenty MPs from various British constituencies signed a letter sent to Ecclestone, again asking to have the race cancelled.

Andy Slaughter, Shadow Justice Minister, said "Last year's race was held under conditions of martial law. Three hundred protesters were arrested, some spending months in jail."

"Since April 2012, many more people including children have lost their lives and the whole country exists in fear and intimidation,"

"I think most democratic-minded people would be appalled if you allowed the Bahrain leg of the Formula 1 championship to go ahead amidst the most atrocious human rights violations."

In 2012, a group of Force India mechanics were reluctantly involved in protests near the capital, Manama. A petrol bomb thrown by protesters hit their car, as anti-monarchy rebels fought against police. This resulted in the team deciding that they would skip a practice session later in the day, so the team could travel to their hotel in daylight.

A series of explosions in the island nation in the past has raised eyebrows regarding security. Although, teams assure that they are prepared, and will operate as normal during the weekend.

The BBC asked teams whether they are implementing altered security arrangements for the race.

Ferrari: "It is up to the federation [the FIA] to give us any indications as to whether extra precautions need to be taken. So far, no [there's been no decision]."

Red Bull: "The team will be vigilant and take sensible precautions, but otherwise we are approaching this race in the same way we do all races."

Mercedes: "The safety of our employees is our highest priority and we will follow the guidance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office concerning travel to the region."

McLaren: "The team will be staying very near the circuit, at a hotel that has very good security, and we feel that no extra security measures are therefore necessary for us."

Williams: "We are adhering to our normal security measures in Bahrain and just using usual common sense, nothing more."

Bernie Ecclestone has openly expressed his views. Ecclestone said there is "no reason" why the race cannot go ahead.

"Last year I spoke to the people representing the protesters and I spoke to the people we deal with. It was really difficult to decide who is right and who is wrong."

"We don't want to see trouble. We don't want to see people arguing and fighting about things we don't understand, because we really don't understand. Some people feel it's our fault there are problems."

Bahrain authorities have assured that safety of F1 staff, broadcasters & the crowd, are in their best interests.

"We will ensure appropriate security measures are taken during the F1 race and will take enough measures, as in all other countries which host such international sporting events"

A spokesperson from the protesters said to Reuters "The race brings money to the regime, which they use to buy weapons and attack us."

"People are getting killed. [But, the government] wants to show that there's nothing wrong in Bahrain,"

It is highly likely that the race will go ahead in Bahrain, neither teams nor management express any doubt.

If you are heading to the race on the 19th, please exercise caution & stay safe!

Image: Huffpost

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[Bram Hengeveld]

I find the timing of these protests a bit silly the last years but they are all right in their message to the outside world. Absurd that this GP is still on the calendar.

 

[TheHemps]

Are these the same MP's that passed a law that allows secret courts to abduct children from their families?

Or the same MP's that made freedom of speech an arrestable offence?

Maybe it's the very same MP's that all live in 17 to 20 bedroom mansions whilst dodging tax and at the same time taxing the working class extra just for having a spare bedroom.

My message to these vermin would be: Put your head back in your shell, shut your hypocritical mouth and preferably disappear.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Overblown, it´s protests nothing more.

If they should stop going to countries that have protests then there would not be many countries to go in.
and this thing about human rights. Where was the human rights when USA invaded Irak based on lies?
Where is the human rights in detaining Manning with no trial?
Where was the human rights in the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay?

Yet nobody say we should never go to USA and support that country.
Hypocrisy like you wouldn´t believe.

The main difference between the protesters in Bahrain and the ones we recently had in USA was that the protesters in USA went a more non-violent way of doing things.

Yet FBI had a "death-list" of protesters people wanted dead and they arrested people for no reason at all.
Swat teams with fully automatic weapons as well. Only difference to Bahrain was the skyline and the non-violence approach by the occupy wall street movment.

 

[William Levesque]

They should just realise that racing has nothing to do with politics (Although you could argue that Bernie wants to go there to make a dough.)

 

[InsaneOzzie]

I'm sure Bernie is thinking about the safety of everyone in the F1 circus....from the safety of his multi million dollar mansion in England.
It makes me wonder if Bernie would accept responsibility if something did/does go horribly wrong, I'm sure he could afford to drop 1 race and forgo the royalties, it's not like he needs the money.
There are other circuits they can race on that don't have the risk's involved that Bahrain currently has, this issue has been going on for 3yrs, the FIA have had plenty of time to arrange an alternate venue till the Bahrain conflict is over.
No-one can guarantee the safety of any team or it's staff, Boston is a good example of that, and it wasn't even a terrorist group, but it's affected many lives.
I hope nothing happens for the sake of all concerned, but I disagree with this GP going ahead, but some peoples beliefs put a greater value on money than peoples lives. Where will it end?

 

[Markus Neumann]

A letter sent to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Democracy in Bahrain said "We request you cancel the Grand Prix."

"It is likely to attract as much negative publicity as last year."

The APPG also wrote to broadcasters, sponsors & teams alike, raising awareness about the potential danger & misfortune in the country during this tense period.

Twenty MPs from various British constituencies signed a letter sent to Ecclestone, again asking to have the race cancelled.

"I think most democratic-minded people would be appalled if you allowed the Bahrain leg of the Formula 1 championship to go ahead amidst the most atrocious human rights violations."

Translation:
"We have realized that the Bahrain GP presents an excellent opportunity for us to get some free positive publicity without having to take any risk whatsoever. Naturally we refrain from criticizing races under similar circumstances if it would come at the detriment of the U.K. national interest, such as the Chinese GP."

I'd also like to point out that the Bahraini protesters who are complaining that the government is using the race to portray Bahrain in the way they want are ironically doing the exact same thing.

 

[Metalfreaky]

No-one can guarantee the safety of any team or it's staff, Boston is a good example of that, and it wasn't even a terrorist group, but it's affected many lives.

By that definition we shouldn't have any race, because no one can guarentee anything. I remember a story when some McLaren(?) team members were robbed in Sao Paulo which therefore isn't a safe ocasion either.

 

[TheHemps]

Guess who the main weapon supplier is to the Bahrain government..,..The UK

You could not make this up.

The same people condemning the violence are the same people selling the weapons.

Come on global warming! Sink this disgusting little island. (UK, not Bahrain)

 

[Howard]

Overblown, it´s protests nothing more.

If they should stop going to countries that have protests then there would not be many countries to go in.
and this thing about human rights. Where was the human rights when USA invaded Irak based on lies?
Where is the human rights in detaining Manning with no trial?
Where was the human rights in the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay?

Yet nobody say we should never go to USA and support that country.
Hypocrisy like you wouldn´t believe.

The main difference between the protesters in Bahrain and the ones we recently had in USA was that the protesters in USA went a more non-violent way of doing things.

Yet FBI had a "death-list" of protesters people wanted dead and they arrested people for no reason at all.
Swat teams with fully automatic weapons as well. Only difference to Bahrain was the skyline and the non-violence approach by the occupy wall street movment.

There has been around 90 citizens killed, and around 3000 injured. 5 of these deaths were a result of torture.

It's not like the Occupy protests at all. No human rights were broken in Occupy, many have been in Bahrain.

Occupy was an anti-capitalism demonstration, this is people protesting against a monarchy-led regime. Tanks & helicopters have been used to quell the protests.

I'd probably recommend you to refrain from making judgment on, firstly, a conflict that you don't have a complete understanding of; and secondly, controversial issues that you again, don't fully understand. This is a racing website, not a place to debate morality of governments.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

No human rights were broken in Occupy, many have been in Bahrain.

Actually they were. Plenty of people got arrested and taken away for no reason at all.
And those that weren´t arrested were driven off by police with automatic weapons and some even recieved death-threats which FBI themselves officially stated.

Occupy was an anti-capitalism demonstration, this is people protesting against a monarchy-led regime. Tanks & helicopters have been used to quell the protests.

At the end of the day it´s the same thing, except for tanks and helicopters.
Which they would never have needed if everyone actually did protest calmly.
Which was the key difference between the two.

I'd probably recommend you to refrain from making judgment on, firstly, a conflict that you don't have a complete understanding of; and secondly, controversial issues that you again, don't fully understand. This is a racing website, not a place to debate morality of governments.

I´m sorry next time i´ll watch the news instead of listening to people who actually were there.
Maybe i´ll learn more through the western media propaganda.

Yes it´s a racing website, but what is being discussed is Formula 1 in Bahrain and the potential consequences of it which is totally in line with what i have written and what you just have written so i´d probably recommend you to read the name of the thread before you start hitting those buttons on the keyboard.

And don´t tell me what i understand and i what i don´t understand as it´s clear you have no idea what other countries are doing that is even more worse then what has happened in Bahrain.
Either you have both eyes opened or both closed. You can´t just look at one thing..

 

[Jordi Casademunt]

If Formula 1 didn't go to countries where human rights are violated, they'd have to cancel a lot of races. In fact, I wonder if there'd be any race left. And yes, some countries are better than others, but I don't care, it should be all or nothing.

 

[Howard]

Yes it´s a racing website, but what is being discussed is Formula 1 in Bahrain and the potential consequences of it which is totally in line with what i have written and what you just have written so i´d probably recommend you to read the name of the thread before you start hitting those buttons on the keyboard.

Let's keep this thread on topic. This isn't the place for discussion about political issues about human rights. What we can agree on is that regardless of the reasons behind the violence, the Grand Prix is attracting attention to both sides of the conflict - and is probably better to not take place.

FYI I wrote the article, I'm aware of what it is about.

 

[Metalfreaky]

Let's keep this thread on topic. This isn't the place for discussion about political issues about human rights

Exactly!
So is F1 a sport and has nothing to do with political issues in its host countries.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

I think it´s very much on topic, this is the very reason there´s even discussion about the Bahrain GP in the first place.

If Formula 1 didn't go to countries where human rights are violated, they'd have to cancel a lot of races. In fact, I wonder if there'd be any race left. And yes, some countries are better than others, but I don't care, it should be all or nothing.

Thank you. This is my point. It´s absolute hypocrisy to talk about Bahrain being so bad when other countries (China, USA etc) have shown time and time again they care very little about human rights.

 

[Howard]

I think it´s very much on topic, this is the very reason there´s even discussion about the Bahrain GP in the first place.

Thank you. This is my point. It´s absolute hypocrisy to talk about Bahrain being so bad when other countries (China, USA etc) have shown time and time again they care very little about human rights.

I'm relatively sure that if there were violent protests 5 miles from the Shanghai circuit, that the race will also be cancelled.

Talking about Guantanamo Bay & potential encroachment on human rights that have no relation whatsoever to the Bahrain Grand Prix is off topic.

There is no debate that some governments are not as squeaky clean as they make themselves out to be, but that is how it is. The FIA operates primarily in these nations, and evidently would rather keep them on side.

Exactly!
So is F1 a sport and has nothing to do with political issues in its host countries.

I am commenting on Hampus' previous comments about unrelated issues. The debate about the Bahrain Grand Prix is that of safety & the welfare of locals, the race brings huge amounts of attention to the region. Last year, Force India mechanics were involved in an incident where they were hit by a petrol bomb, the FIA is trying to keep people safe.

Please keep conversation away from things unrelated to the Bahrain GP issue. It is not appropriate to discuss controversial issues here that are nothing to do with the Grand Prix. If the discussion is not directly related to issues in Bahrain, then don't post it.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

I'm relatively sure that if there were violent protests 5 miles from the Shanghai circuit, that the race will also be cancelled.

Oh ok so it´s a distance thing now.. Yea i guess if it happens 6 miles out it´s completely fine.

Talking about Guantanamo Bay & potential encroachment on human rights that have no relation whatsoever to the Bahrain Grand Prix is off topic.

If you miss-understand why it´s brought up i can see how you can think it´s off topic.
it´s very much on topic in regards to the reasons why we are even discussing the Bahrain GP and why it´s so silly to sit and point fingers at Bahrain when there´s other things going on in other countries F1 visit.

There is no debate that some governments are not as squeaky clean as they make themselves out to be, but that is how it is.

Case closed then, happy racing.

F1 will take a political stance whichever way they choose.

 

[Howard]

Hampus Andersson as I have said, please keep the discussion directly related to the article. May you please abstain from picking arguments, if you have an urge to discuss politics then post it in the correct forum.

Please do not try to bend around by request by saying that it is related to the topic. This thread is solely for discussing the current situation, at this very moment in time up until the race is over & the implications of local affairs on the race itself - and the social issues surrounding this event, and it's effect on the event.

It is quite evident given your posting history that you find entertainment in argument, but I'd much rather that this thread & article stays rid of it.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

See how you are having to bend words not to use the word politics like "current situation", "local affairs", "social issues", "it's effect on the event."

Which is the one and only thing this discussion is about.
It´s 100% about politics whether we like it or not.
You have an article about a letter being sent from politicians to Bernie.
A political party discussing the politics surrounding the Bahrain GP.

In fact the only way to not get into politics about anything surrounding this event would be to discuss something about the sport or who will do well in the race.

You can´t with a straight face say that the first post i.e. the article is not about politics.
And i don´t like arguing but i´d rather discuss the obvious then ignoring the elephant in the room.

However i can respect your proposal or order whichever way you see it and sit back and enjoy you guys not talk about politics in here.

"No political opinion" hmm ok so the British MP can have an opinion in your first post but not us. that´s neat.

 

[Howard]

Read my post again.

This thread is solely for discussing the current situation, at this very moment in time up until the race is over & the implications of local affairs on the race itself - and the social issues surrounding this event, and it's effect on the event.

Not political opinion.

Blowing a thread about conflict in Bahrain affecting the race into one that is essentially anti-capitalist & consists spouted opinion with no concrete relation to anything in particular is both unnecessary and frankly irritating.

I am not going to discuss this further.

If you want to discuss politics or anything that isn't actually related, do it here.