(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - British MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander said this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix would “send the wrong signal” as the Al-Khalifa regime in the Persian Gulf kingdom continues to crack down on pro-democracy protesters.
“F1 bosses should call off the scheduled Bahrain Grand Prix,” said Alexander.
“To go ahead at present risks sending the wrong signal at a time when the authorities in Bahrain should be focused on delivering real reform,” he added.
Alexander’s call for cancelling the event comes as John Yates, former Metropolitan deputy chief who was deployed to Bahrain to oversee reforms, said Bahrain was calm and ready to host the F1 Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, in a 58-page report, Amnesty International said the Bahraini regime had failed to deliver on promises of political reform after a brutal crackdown over the past year.
“With the world's eyes on Bahrain as it prepares to host the Grand Prix, no one should be under any illusions that the country's human rights crisis is over,” said the London-based watchdog’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
“The authorities are trying to portray the country as being on the road to reform, but we continue to receive reports of torture and use of unnecessary and excessive force against protests,” Sahraoui added.
Furthermore, on Monday, two Bahraini activists climbed to the top of the Bahraini embassy in London to “tell everyone the double standard from the UK government who support dictatorship in my country [Bahrain]”, as described by Ali Mushaima, one of the activists.
The activists also called for the release of Hasan Mushaima, the leader of a banned political party in Bahrain who is in jail with cancer, and Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja imprisoned opposition leader who has been on hunger strike since the night of February 8-9.
Meanwhile, as Al-Khawaja nears death, the British Queen has invited the tyrant ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, to a lunch at Windsor Castle and to a champagne dinner at Buckingham Palace to celebrate her 60th year of reign.
/smh