RNA – In an interview with Hawzah News Agency, Dr. Rashed al-Rashed, a Bahraini political activist, referred to the hosting of the Formula One Grand Prix tournament in the tiny Persian Gulf country last weekend and to the protests by Bahraini citizens and revolutionaries who voiced their outrage against the tournament and against the ruling Al Khalifah regime.
The angry demonstrators described the hosting of the Formula One tournament as an attempt by the ruling Al Khalifah regime to distract attention away from its bleak human rights record.
Dr. al-Rashed stated that such protests have been held annually in recent years ahead of the major sport event, saying: “The al-Khalifah regime seeks to use this tournament to portray their government as legitimate and pretend it a system that is based on unity and that the situation is under control and enjoys political will.”
He added that by hosting the Formula One tournament, the government seeks to expand relations with other countries and wants to portray the kingdom as safe in such a way that it does not have any internal political opponents.
“But the fact of the matter is that the claims of the Al Khalifah regime are against what has actually occurred such that during the past week several protests have been held against the hosting of the tournament in the country,” he stressed.
In this regard, Dr. al-Rashed reiterated that political opponents of the tournament do not view it as Formula One, but rather as “Formula Blood.”
He added that many are imprisoned just because they called for the tournament to be cancelled and added that the number of political opponents had written letters and reports in regard to Bahrain’s hosting of the Formula One tournament and the deteriorating situation in the country.
Dr. al-Rashed said that the Al Khalifah regime is responsible for the crimes and atrocities committed against the human rights of the people and that the Formula 1 tournament has been held despite the people’s pressure and its unpopularity.
“[Formula One’s governing body, the FIA], has decided to continue and participate in the games due to the attempts to beautify the situation by the regime despite all the crimes they have committed against the citizens of Bahrain,” he said.
Referring to the latest situation regarding Shaykh Ali Salman, the Secretary-General of al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, he said that Shaykh Salman, along with 5,000 other political opponents of the Al Khalifah regime, are being held in the regime’s prisons. Many party leaders and citizens are also imprisoned.
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