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April 21st, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
They released a photograph of Habib’s blood covered body splayed out on a
corrugated iron rooftop. He was apparently found wearing a tear gas mask.
The other arrested people had not seen him being beaten and police have now
sealed off the area.
Protesters had flooded a main highway on Friday in a march stretching for
miles.
The government allowed the massive Friday demonstration in an apparent bid to
avoid the hit-and-run street battles that are the hallmark of the Gulf
nation’s 14-month uprising – and an embarrassing spectacle for Bahrain’s
Western-backed rulers as F1 teams prepare for Sunday’s race.
But violence flared as small groups in the march peeled away from the route to
challenge riot police, who answered with volleys of tear gas and stun
grenades.
Some protesters sought refuge in a shopping mall and nearby shops about 12
miles north of the Formula One track, where practice runs took place and
Bahrain’s crown prince vowed the country’s premier international event would
go ahead.
On Saturday morning the authorities deployed armoured vehicles on the streets
of the capital and the main road leading to the race track.
Hot spot: a Bahraini protester holds a Molotov cocktail during clashes
with riot police in Manama on Friday (GETTY IMAGES)
FIA president Jean Todt said his conscience was clear and defended the body’s
decision not to bow to protesters.
“I am sorry about what has been reported – I am not sure all that has
been reported corresponds to the reality of what is happening in this
country.”
“But I feel F1 is very strong. It is a very strong brand, and all the
people among the teams to whom I have been speaking are very happy,” he
said.
“I was even told it would have been a mistake not to come. Again, you
speak to those people. That is what I have been told by most of the team
principals here.”
Last year, a wave of anti-government protests by the island’s Shiite majority
and a crackdown by the Sunni rulers forced organisers to cancel the 2011
Bahrain GP.
At least 50 people have been killed since the start of Bahrain’s uprising –
the longest-running in the Arab Spring – which seeks a greater political
voice for Shiites and to weaken the near monopoly of the Sunni dynasty that
has ruled for more than 200 years.
“We demand democracy” and “Down, Down Hamad,” chanted some
of the tens of thousands of opposition supporters in reference to King Hamad
bin Isa Al Khalifa, as they massed on the main highway leading out of the
capital, Manama. Bahrain’s monarchy is the main backer of the F1 race, and
the crown prince owns rights to the event.
Hours before the march, Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric, Sheik Isa Qassim,
delivered a strongly worded sermon that denounced authorities for making
dozens of arrests of suspected dissidents in recent weeks. He called the
intensified crackdowns before the F1 event “as if we are entering a war.”
Bahrain’s rulers lobbied hard to stage this year’s Grand Prix as part of
attempts to portray stability in the strategic kingdom, which is home to the
US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
On the opposite side, human rights groups and others campaigned to keep the
race away, citing the relentless pressures by security forces and the
imprisonment of opposition figures – including a Shiite political activist
on a more than a two-month-long hunger strike.
The US-based group Physicians for Human Rights also said it was concerned
about the near daily use of tear gas in Bahrain, including in crowded urban
areas and homes, and its possible long-term health consequences, including
increased rates of miscarriages and birth defects.
“Despite promises of reform since our investigation into the Kingdom last
year, the Government’s excessive use of force has only increased,” said
Richard Sollom, the group’s deputy director.
The hacking collective Anonymous, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for a
denial-of-service attack on the official Formula One website in protest over
the running of the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. Such web attacks work by
overwhelming a site with bogus traffic.
Shiites account for about 70 per cent of Bahrain’s population of just over
half a million people, but claim they face widespread discrimination and
lack opportunities granted to the Sunni minority. The country’s leaders have
offered some reforms, but the opposition says they fall short of Shiite
demands for a greater voice in the country’s affairs and an elected
government.
Bahrain’s crown prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, visited the track Friday
and rejected any suggestion that the race should be scrapped.
“I think cancelling the race just empowers extremists,” he said. “For
those of us trying to navigate a way out of this political problem, having
the race allows us … to celebrate our nation as an idea that is positive,
not one that is divisive.”
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