(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Bahrain's main opposition on Sunday announced a week of daily pro-democracy protests in the Persian Gulf kingdom until after the controversial Formula One Grand Prix race scheduled for next Sunday, April 22.
Largest opposition group Al-Wefaq said on its website it plans sit-ins and demonstrations under the banner of "steadfastness and challenge," starting on Sunday with a protest in Bilad al-Qadim, a Shia village east of the capital.
The protests will take place in Shia villages on the outskirts of Manama, including one on Tuesday near Bahrain's International Airport, according to Al-Wefaq which has for months spearheaded calls for democratic reform.
Bahrain, where the majority of the population is Shia Muslim, is ruled by the discrimination Al-Khalifa dynasty.
Al-Wefaq said there are no plans for protests near the Sakhir circuit where the race will be held.
However, the "Revolution of February 14" youth group, whose members have repeatedly clashed with security forces, has called for "three days of rage" from April 20 to 22 to protest against the decision by motorsport chiefs to go ahead with the race.
Al-Wefaq leader Abdel Jalil Khalil told us on Sunday Al-Wefaq would not try to prevent the race from happening but was organizing the protests to "take advantage of this week's race to highlight our political and democratic demands."
International journalists have been routinely blocked from entering the tiny island kingdom since the government cracked down on a month-long uprising in February 2011 which left more than 70 people martyred, including five from torture, according to an independent investigation.
The Grand Prix controversy has once again swung the international media spotlight on the troubled kingdom, an opportunity the opposition says it will use to further publicize demands for greater equality and democracy.
The continued unrest in Bahrain, and the recent shooting and wounding of a 15-year-old boy by riot police, has increased pressure on race organizers and participating teams to boycott the event.
On Friday, however, both F1 governing body the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) and commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone declared that the race would go ahead as scheduled.
The U.S.-based watchdog Human Rights Watch condemned the decision, arguing that it would be exploited by the ruling dynasty "to obscure the seriousness of the country's human rights situation."
The F1 race was cancelled last year in the wake of the uprising and the brutal government crackdown that followed.
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