Political Analyst: "F1 puts Bahraini regime crimes in spotlight"

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The demonstrators, who have been demanding the cancellation of the race, set fire to tires and garbage containers and blocked the roads in several villages.The tournament is scheduled to kick off in Bahrain on Sunday.The demonstrations have intensified since Saturday when the body of a man martyred in clashes with regime forces was discovered.Meanwhile, Zeinab al-Khawaja, the daughter of human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, was also briefly detained.Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has been on hunger strike in prison for over 75 days. He was arrested for protesting against the regime.There is an interview with Kamel Wazni, political analyst, to share his opinion on this issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.Q: Mr. Wazni, Bahrain is confident that the Grand Prix will go through without incidents while protesters are challenging that notion. Even if this event does go through, does the monarchy come out a winner here?Wazni: Obviously that is what the monarchy was hoping, this event will restore the image of Bahrain. The opposite is happening. Every reporter around the world is talking about this issue, about the brutality of the Bahraini regime against its own people.The image that the monarchy Bahrain was trying to say we are applying the law, we are facing some dissident but the opposite is happening because a lot of those people came and joined the demonstrators and we saw one participant came and raised a sign with the people who are asking for justice and for freedom and for democratic system in Bahrain.This monarchy cannot lie to the world. They lied enough. They fabricated evidence. They are actually using every means to crackdown on civilians.They are actually resorting to very harsh treatment to their own people and there is a lot of report of massive torture in monarchy jails.Today we have 230 reporters in Bahrain. They will cover the real story about what is happening in Bahrain and yesterday there was an article in the New York Times talking about that effect, how this image backfired on the monarchy in Bahrain and widely.So this act of terrorism by the Bahraini government cannot continue. The killing and raping and pillaging of the people of Bahrain cannot continue. The act that is committed by Bahraini government should be accountable in front of the international court that has been silent and for the Obama administration to speak loudly and not to say we condemn or act of violence.Here the act of violence, it’s belonged to the monarchy that is killing its own people with the participant of the Saudis government that is sending its troops to crackdown on other countries which has no authority to do so legally or morally or in any other way.Q: Mr.Wazni, I want to pick up on your mention of the media. How significant is it that the holding of this race has even gotten the attention of these many Western media outlets like you mentioned which are criticizing F1’s rejection of any protest in Bahrain?Wazni: Obviously it is actually playing very well for the Bahraini people because they have legitimate cause, they have been voicing their resentment of this discriminate regime, this apartheid regime. It is really an apartheid regime. It is worse than the system of South Africa.Now when you have people on the ground reporting from the ground, they saw the majority, they are asking for simple things to have democratic state in Bahrain, not to have the monarchy actually imposing their will on the people.This world will not tolerate any dictator; will not tolerate any king or monarchy if they abuse civil rights.Here there is a huge infringement on the liberty of the Bahraini people and this will not be tolerated. There is reporters and those reporters actually start working and they are reporting some good facts that the Bahraini monarchy is trying to hide and even if they go with the race, the race is against them because the truth came out and all their shame is actually been broadcast around the globe. /129