DUBAI: Protesters in Bahrain plan to step up demands for reform ahead of this weekend’s Formula One Grand Prix, setting the scene for a showdown with authorities determined to stage an incident-free race.
The main opposition Al Wefaq political bloc has called for a massive rally to coincide with free practice tomorrow, the same day the radical February 14 Movement has urged youths to protest under the slogan “Volcano of Anger”.
The Shia Al Wefaq is to protest under the banner “Democracy is Our Right”.
“We are not against the Formula One Grand Prix, but we want the world to hear our demands — democracy, respect of human rights, and an elected government,” said leading Al Wefaq figure Khalil Al Marzooq.
Marzooq, speaking on the telephone, distanced his movement from the violence that the February 14 Movement frequently resorts to. But he accused the security forces in the tiny Gulf archipelago of “suppressing the people like they were enemies,” adding that “violence leads to violence”.
Late on Tuesday, youths took to the streets across Shia-populated villages, sounding drums and chanting: “No to the Formula of blood,” in reference to the three-day event.
Video footage posted on YouTube showed masked protesters setting alight tyres and gas cylinders to block a road in Bilad Al Qadim near the capital Manama. The protesters carried pictures of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, his face marked with a X.
Ecclestone has said he sees “no reason” why the Bahrain race should not be successful.
“There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be,” Ecclestone said at last weekend’s Grand Prix in Shanghai, China. Sunni-ruled Bahrain has vowed to take “appropriate” security measures ahead of the Grand Prix in the Shia-majority Gulf state.
Government spokeswoman Samira Rajab said that “Bahrain is ready to host the F1 and there are no security issues,” dismissing the protests as “childish movements implementing Iranian agendas... that will not affect the race.” She said hotel occupancy rates “will reach 100 percent based on the bookings made until now”. “The teams are here now and tourists are in their thousands.”
AFP
