Think tank: Bahrain F1 a time bomb
Bahrain's hosting of the Formula One Grand Prix is a 'time bomb,' the International Crisis Group warned in a statement on Monday that detailed lingering tensions and violence in the Gulf state.
"Beneath a facade of normalisation, Bahrain is sliding towards another dangerous eruption of violence," the international think tank said, urging the government in Manama to heed to calls for reform.
"The government acts as if partial implementation of recommendations from the November 2011 Independent Commission of Inquiry... will suffice to restore tranquillity, but there is every reason to believe it is wrong."
The commission probed last year's month-long Shiite-led democracy protests and found that police used 'excessive force' and tortured detainees in the crackdown that left 35 people dead, including five from torture.
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has declared that next Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix would go ahead as scheduled, despite ongoing anti-government demonstrations and escalating sectarian tensions.
"Do you think that if we cancel the Formula One that all the problems will just disappear?" an irritated Ecclestone told AFP in the paddock at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Source: Agencies
Published April 16 2012
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