Burden expressed dismay with the comments of Bernie Ecclestone, F1’s
commercial rights holder, who said last week he could see “no problems” in
Bahrain and that he would be attending the grand prix at Sakhir. “I find
that message surprising,” he continued. “The holding of this race should
have some conditions attached to it – F1 should not see itself in a global
bubble.”
The 2011 race had to be scrapped after at least 35 people were killed when
Bahrain’s ruling Sunni elite crushed a pro-democracy uprising. After last
year’s instalment went ahead against the backdrop of the tightest security,
the opposition movement, Al Wefaq, claim that the reforms promised by King
Hamad continue to be half-hearted at best. Unrest has again been witnessed
in the outlying villages of Sitra and Sanabis.
Burden, asked if his objections to the Bahrain Grand Prix on human rights
grounds could also be extended to China, the stage for the season’s third
race on Sunday, replied: “It is possible to take an absolutist view – that
where there are human rights abuses, sport should not go there. But this
would be unlikely to promote much change in China. It is not so much of a
focus for opposition.”