Bahrain: Grand Prix races on people's blood

April 23, 2012
Issue 
Cartoon by Latuff.

The expression “business as usual” summarises the view of the revolution in Bahrain held by the Bahraini authorities, Western governments, international media like Al Jazeera, and the Gulf states.

The Formula One Grand Prix has been confirmed by the International Automobile Federation. It declared the decision to reinstate it “reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain”.

The Bahraini government has tried to portray the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix, which was set to take place over April 20-22, as part of a national reconciliation process, branding it under the slogan “Unified: One Nation in Celebration”.

The objective is to present the uprising of the Bahraini people as something of the past, now finished and irrelevant.

The reality on the ground is totally different. The uprising that started last year never really stopped, despite the repression. Demonstrations continue almost daily throughout the island.

Ongoing protests, repression

On March 9, a protest honouring martyrs turned into a huge demonstration against the regime. More than half the population came out, carrying placards reading: “No Dialogue with Killers”, “No to Dictatorship”, and “No to Sectarianism”.

The same week, the February 14 Youth Coalition called The National Week of Resistance against the Occupier to commemorate the Saudi-led Gulf Co-operation Council military intervention in the country on March 14 last year. The intervention sought to crush the popular movement with the help of Bahrain security forces.

The February 14 Youth Coalition and other popular organisations have also organised almost daily protests aimed at the Formula One race. They called for "three days of anger" to coincide with the Grand Prix, with the aim of obstructing it and raising their demands for democratic change in Bahrain.

International civic groups and local human rights and political organisations initiated popular campaigns to pressure various racing teams to boycott the event.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja’s hunger strike has also provided a focus for solidarity and protest. He has been on hunger strike for more than 65 days, declaring “freedom or death”. He was moved to a military hospital on April 6 due to his rapidly deteriorating health.

Al-Khawaja was arrested last year in his home by masked police officers and armed men in civilian clothing. He was kicked, brutally beaten to the ground, and pushed down stairs to roll in his own blood.

He and other activists were tried before a military tribunal and given life sentences for allegedly “organising and managing a terrorist organisation” (in other words, directing a human rights centre). The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report documents Al-Khawaja’s subjection to physical and sexual torture.

Activists continue to be tortured. Suspected dissidents are still dragged from their homes in the middle of the night, without warrants.

Security forces are firing more tear gas at protesters ― and in villages sympathetic to the opposition. Two thirds of gas-related deaths have occurred since November.

The regime has hired hundreds of former soldiers from Pakistan to serve in its National Guard. Bahrain’s police, military and national guard are staffed in large part by non-Bahraini citizens, mostly from Pakistan, Yemen and Syria.

The use of sectarian discrimination by the government against Shia Muslim citizens was condemned by BICI report. Last year, before the beginning of the uprising, there were only four Shiite ministers out of 23 cabinet positions. Those ministries run by Shiites are considered of low importance.

Discrimination against the Shia community is also present in education. The curriculum is based solely on the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. Proposals to include units on Shia Ja’afari jurisprudence have yet to materialise.

The authoritarian regime is playing on sectarian divisions to prevent people from uniting against it. It is also characterised by its high level of corruption, developed through neoliberal policies and the privatisation of public lands and companies.

Despite the fact that the Shias in Bahrain have suffered the most from the regime’s intransigence, frustrations cut across sectarian lines. Slogans on demonstrations have been inclusive, calling for unity between Shia and Sunni, as well as for social justice.

As well as trying to feed sectarianism, the regime has viciously attacked workers’ rights. By last November, nearly 3000 workers in the public and private sectors had been dismissed because of their participation in the uprising.

Leaders of various unions have been targeted by the regime and jailed. The General Federation of Bahraini Trade Unions said only 134 workers had been reinstated by November.

Many of these workers had to agree to unacceptable, indeed illegal, conditions to get their jobs back. These include agreeing not to take part in any future political activity, waiving the right to take part in legal cases against the government and agreeing not to re-join their trade union.

In November, BICI released a report on the widespread abuses of the preceding eight months. The report denounced the many cases of torture and arbitrary detention by the state, as well as sectarianism and other issues. The report's recommendations were not implemented by the regime.

Since the start of the Bahraini uprising, more than 80 civilians have died. Between 1600 and 4000 protesters have been detained.

Western collaboration

Bahrain holds particular importance to the United States as the host of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which Washington sees as the main military counterweight to Iran's alleged efforts to expand its armed forces and reach into the Gulf.

The Western powers have taken part directly or indirectly in the repression. The tear gas used by the security forces is bought from Combined Systems, a company based in Pennsylvania.

Bahrain is also being supplied with weapons imported from Britain and receives advice from former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates.

Britain has sold more than US$1.5 million of weapons including rifles and artillery to the kingdom since last year's unrest. None of the big Western governments have called for regime change or threatened sanctions.

The commitment to go ahead with the Formula One Grand Prix, despite vicious repression, shows the system’s priorities. Since the race was introduced in 2004, revenues have continued to expand. The last time Bahrain hosted the event in 2010, it reportedly raked in about US$300 million.

The Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who is also the chief executive of Bahrain International Circuit, predicted the revenues for BIC alone in hosting the Grand Prix will reach US$500 million. This figure does not take into account the lucrative television broadcast rights or the revenue generated by a large influx of tourists and other associated industries.

Despite these growing profits since 2004, the income levels of the local Bahraini population have not increased in real terms. Poverty have been one of the key issues driving the protests. About 22% of Bahraini households are earning an income below the poverty line.

Bahrain's government also spent millions on public relations, particularly with public relations companies in Britain and the US, with which the regime has close diplomatic, military and commercial links, to try to improve its bloodied image.

Corporate role

The list of companies or individuals hired by or linked to the Bahrain government since the start of the uprising includes: Qorvis, Bell Pottinger Group, Potomac Square Group, British military general Graeme Lamb, US House of Representatives member Eni Faleomavaega, US Democratic campaign consultant Joe Trippi, David Cracknell and Big Tent Communications, Earl of Clanwilliam Paddy Gillford and Gardant Communications, Good Governance Group, Sorini, Samet & Associates, Sanitas Internationa, New Century Media, Dragon Associates, M&C Saatchi, and Barbour, Griffith and Rogers.

The participation of some Western powers in the repression ― by selling arms to the Bahraini regime while advising it on dealing with world opinion to improve its image ― and the military intervention by Saudi forces to crush the popular movement represent imperialist intervention in support of an authoritarian regime.

But the Bahraini people will not give in. The movement will continue until the demands of the popular movement for democracy, social justice and independence are met.

[Reprinted from CounterFire.]

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