Grand Prix must be cancelled – a look back a few weeks ago before al Khalifa had torture, kidnapping, mass detention, destruction of Mosques and sackings under his belt

Why the Bahrain Grand Prix must be cancelled immediately
Tom Cary is The Telegraph’s Formula One Correspondent. You can follow him on Twitter @tomcaryf1
By Tom Cary Formula One Last updated: February 18th, 2011

There is now no question in my mind that the Bahrain Grand Prix must be cancelled. Why wait until next week? Bernie should do it now.

There are times when sport needs to take a back seat and this is definitely one of those times – no matter how much money is involved or how many interested parties there are (and remember, it’s not just F1’s pockets which are being lined by the grand prix, a cancellation would hit the local economy too, small businesses etc).

The latest reports, in particular this one by Nicholas D Kristoff of the NY Times, paint a terrifying picture of a country that has lost control and lost the plot.

I’ve got to be careful what I say here. In these situations it is always difficult to separate truth from rumour; to tell whether destabilising forces are distorting the picture (for instance, the atrocities described by Kristoff may have been committed by rogue factions who have ulterior motives rather than Bahraini officials). There are pro-government marches too, which haven’t received half the attention. Propaganda may well be clouding our judgement.

But the reaction of the authorities to Kristoff’s report – if true – suggests to me that they are not altogether in touch with reality. A tweet from the American on Friday morning was extraordinary, describing how Bahrain’s royal family is unhappy with his reporting.

“I’ve heard that through the PR firms that they hire,” Kristoff said. “There is apparently a campaign to get me fired – I don’t really know how they’re going to proceed with that. Most remarkably, one member of the royal family tweeted that I am supplying weapons to outlaws and that I have ties to Hezbollah. To me this was a reflection of the completely delusional world in which the government lives. The government does not want reporters here… This is a wealthy country, it’s cosmopolitan, it’s well-educated, it’s a banking centre. And then they have this thuggish behaviour, with police sent in firing on people, crowds. It is astonishing and it breaks your heart.” …more