13th/ 14th April 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

F1 to return to Bahrain amid more protests
Formula One is bracing for its return to Bahrain next week amid fresh protests about the staging of a grand prix in a country still riven by sectarian and political divisions. The protests might not be as intense as they were the past two years prompting the cancellation of the 2011 race and vast security measures to allow the 2012 grand prix to proceed but thousands still demonstrated Friday against the race, to be held April 21. Organizers of the protests said more demonstrations were planned. The FIA, the governing body of Formula One, and FOM, which runs the commercial side of the sport, have been largely silent on the political protests in the lead-up to the event. Read More majority in this Sunni-ruled kingdom - who say the Formula One Grand Prix race Bahrain will host April 19-21 should be cancelled, as it was in 2011 when authorities crushed prodemocracy protests inspired by the 'Arab Spring'. Two years on daily clashes still erupt, largely unnoticed outside the region. The race will once again draw international attention to Bahrain. The 2012 meeting was accompanied by nightly skirmishes between protesters and security forces. Read More events," government spokeswoman Samir Rajab said.

Bahrain vows 'appropriate' security for F1

Bahrain vowed on Sunday to take "appropriate" security measures for its Formula One race, as thousands of demonstrators kept up daily protests. Bahrain "will ensure that appropriate security measures are taken during the F1 race and will take enough measures as in all other countries which host such international sporting

"The security situation in Bahrain is very reassuring," she said, quoted by state news agency BNA. Her remarks came as witnesses said thousands took to the streets in Dair village near Manama international airport demanding the ouster of the government -- led for decades by the monarch's uncle Khalifa bin Salman AlKhalifa. Read More protesters have continued to foment unrest in the outlying villages of Sitra and Sanabis, where it is claimed up to 20 arrests have recently been made. Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director of the New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch, said last week: "Bahraini authorities are arbitrarily detaining opposition protesters in advance of the Grand Prix. This suggests ofcials are more concerned with getting activists out of circulation than with addressing the legitimate grievances that have led so many Bahrainis to take to the streets." Read More

Motor race draws world gaze to Bahrain, Arab Spring's forgotten corner
On the wall of a home in the Bahraini village of alAali, 20-year-old Hassan peered through a black balaclava to admire his latest artwork: a circle around the phrase F1 crossed out in red spray paint. The sentiment is shared by many Bahraini Shi'ites - the

Protests brew in Bahrain as motor racing takes a back seat

Long before the Chinese Grand Prix started here in Shanghai, Formula One was once again reverberating to the jungle drums of Bahrain, where last year's controversial race aroused worldwide condemnation. Little may have changed outwardly, but talks have been going on for months between the ruling Sunni factions and pro-democracy Shi'ite protesters. While the dialogue is seen as a small step towards progress,

Crackdown in Bahrain (0:57)

The Gulf Arab state of Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is based,

has been hit by unrest since pro-democracy protests broke out in early 2011, putting it in the frontline of the region-wide tussle between Shi'ite Muslim Iranand Sunni Arab states such as Saudi Arabia Watch here

next week's Formula One Grand Prix. Police used tear gas and sound bombs to break up a gathering of several hundred people in Sanabes, witnesses said. Further south, a 14-year-old boy was severely wounded in the face and two people arrested when police red buckshot and tear gas at demonstrators, the main Shiite opposition group AlWefaq said on its website. Read More

multinationals that bankroll F1 don't appear so comfortable going with the ow.

Protests in Bahrain ahead of Grand Prix

Bahraini protesters are organising a week of protests ahead of next weekend's Formula One Grand Prix. Thousands of Bahrainis have demonstrated near Manama urging democratic reforms, part of a campaign of protests planned by the political opposition ahead of

Sponsors unsure about Bahrain, teams about politics

The 2013 Bahrain Grand prix may be going ahead next weekend, but will not do so with everyone involved seemingly as happy about it as Bernie Ecclestone. While the FIA has refused to conrm its stance on the political situation within the Gulf state, and the teams admitting that they will go wherever the sport's ringmaster leads them, the

Bahrain has been the subject of pro-democracy demonstrations since early 2011, when the 'Arab Spring' uprising spread across the region with greater 'success' in countries such as Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Protestors object to the continuation of the grand prix, saying that F1's presence is a symbol of their oppression thanks to its close links to the ruling family. Read More