F1 boss Ecclestone supports Bahrain dictatorship

This video says about itself:

21 April 2012

Bahrain Formula One: Protesters Clash with Police as Tear Gas Fired – 1% Continue with F1 Race

Here is a timeline of events in Bahrain leading to the controversy over the Formula One race this weekend.

February 14, 2011 – An anti-government “Day of Rage” inspired by popular upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia takes place. One protester is killed. The next day another person dies when police clash with mourners at the protester’s funeral.

February 17 – Bahrain police storm Pearl Roundabout, the focal point of protests, on a Manama square, to clear activists camped out there. At least seven people are killed.

February 21 – Bahrain cancels Formula One motor race due to have been held on March 13. Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa says “the country’s entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain”.

…

March 14 – Around 1,000 Saudi troops are deployed in Bahrain at the ruling family’s request to protect government facilities after mainly Shi’ite protesters overrun police and block roads. The United Arab Emirates says it will send 500 police.

March 15 – Bahrain declares martial law.

Anti-government protesters in Bahrain flooded a main highway in a march stretching for miles and security forces fired tear gas in breakaway clashes as the country’s leaders struggle to contain opposition anger ahead of the Grand Prix.

As Formula One car racing fat cat Bernie Ecclestone is on record as praising Adolf Hitler, and praising Margaret Thatcher, it is not that surprising that he likes the absolute monarchy in Bahrain as well.

From the Indian Express:

You can’t be serious, Ecclestone

Daksh Panwar : Tue Jul 30 2013, 00:41 hrs

After the winds of change blew the 2011 Arab Spring eastwards to Bahrain, triggering a massive anti-government wave the Persian Gulf island, Formula One was forced to postpone what was to be the opening race of the calendar at Sakhir. But not willing to antagonise their Bahraini patrons — whose petro dollars they very much sought — Bernie Ecclestone & Co kept delaying a final decision on the race. It wasn’t before a few drivers and teams put their foot down, on human rights and logistical grounds, that the GP was eventually cancelled for the year. Next year, however, the spectacle was back in the island, and this time it went on despite violent protests, despite a few Force India crew members getting caught in a crossfire on race eve. 2013, too, went ahead despite the unrest.

It was, therefore, with a wry smile that this semi-columnist received Bernie Ecclestone’s remarks that Indian Grand Prix may be dropped from the 2014 calendar as it was “too political”.

For Bernie, and by extension for F1, politics is never a factor when it comes to deciding where to host a race and where not. Economics is. With the Indian GP, too, the real issue is money. The teams have to pay the Indian government a 70 per cent tax on 1/19th of their annual revenue. Not on the profit, as is the case in a more favourable country such as the UK, but on the total income. And since escalating costs have meant there are hardly any profits for teams, the issue has been a rather thorny one ever since the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in 2011.

So why it has flared up now?

The announcement comes at a time when the F1 season takes a four-week break. It’s a good time to negotiate, list a provisional calendar and send it to FIA in September for approval. And in any such negotiations with the stakeholders, Bernie will have the upper hand. Like FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, he has transformed F1 into such a marketable brand that there are many prospective partners — including governments — who are ready to roll out a red carpet for the circus: the circuits willing to pay more in license fee, the governments willing to offer tax exemptions.

Next year, if the Indian GP stays on track, the calendar may have a whopping 22 races, with Russia, Austria and a second race in the US (New Jersey) in the pipeline. It’s evident Bernie feels he has nothing to lose here: he can either bargain a better deal in India, or move to some other lucrative destination — Mexico, Argentina, Portugal, France, South Africa, Britain (London) are a few names floating around. Clearly, he is spoilt for choice.

Daksh is a special correspondent based in Delhi.

Bernie Ecclestone ‘completely agrees’ with Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws, and so do ‘90 per cent of the world’, says F1 boss: here.

F1 Boss Ecclestone Denies Bribery at German Trial: here.

Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone is to pay £60 million to end his bribery trial in Germany: here.

Far from being associated with the values the global public associate with sport – friendship, mutual respect, fair play and excellence – F1’s reputation has been marred by links with repressive states and their human rights abuses, primarily through its choice of Bahrain as a Grand Prix host: here.

Related articles

• F1 fans express shock and disappointment at news of Indian GP facing possible axe in 2014 (dnaindia.com)
• Formula One may drop Indian Grand Prix in 2014 (sports.ndtv.com)
• Ecclestone doubts 2014 Indian GP (bbc.co.uk)
• “Politics” could force end to Indian Grand Prix (motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com)
• 2014 Indian GP could be scrapped (thehindu.com)
• Hungaroring’s contract to host F1 extended until 2021 (motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com)
• Ecclestone casts doubt on Indian GP (guardian.co.uk)