Avaaz | Be a Seed for Change

Dear Friends,

Red Bull must decide whether to lend its name to clean the image of the blood-soaked Bahraini government, or pull out of the Formula 1 race that’s due to be held there. Let’s stand with the students, nurses and other innocent protesters who’ve been killed and tortured and call on Red Bull and the other teams to stay away from Bahrain. We’ll use hard-hitting ads to turbo charge our message. The decision is in 48 hours —

Red Bull has built a reputation as a sporty, fun drink — but by this Friday, it and other leading F1 teams may become better known for endorsing government torture and murder. Formula One has 48 hours to decide whether to hold its already-delayed race in Bahrain, site of one of the most brutal crackdowns in the Middle East.

If Red Bull refuses to race in Bahrain, other teams will pull back as well — and the Formula One race could be taken off the schedule, sending shock waves through Bahrain’s brutal government and sending an unmistakeable message that the world will not ignore state brutality. Sports boycotts have piled pressure on other regimes such as apartheid South Africa — we can do it again.

Red Bull will only act if enough of us join together to make clear that its brand, its very reputation, is on the line. Let’s raise a cry that Bahrain’s government thugs can’t silence, and call on Red Bull to pull out of the Formula One race slated for Bahrain. If 300,000 of us sign the petition, Avaaz will run hard-hitting adverts carrying our messages to Red Bull executives. Just two days remain — sign now and pass this message along:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_f1_in_brutal_bahrain/?vl

The Bahraini government has booted out the world’s media — even torturing a female journalist working for a French TV channel. Under cover of this blackout it is claiming that all is calm and orderly. That’s a blatant lie. Early one morning last week teargas bombs were shot through a window of a leading human rights activist. He only just rescued his brother, wife and daughter who were close to suffocation. He now appeals to Avaaz “to do whatever you can to stop the government from attacking me and my family”.

Bahrain has even sacked and abused a quarter of the workers at its F1 race track. One badly bruised track worker says that policeman “put my head between his legs, flipped me on to the floor – and then the beatings really began”. Many people are still missing — such as a student who was injured during attack on university of Bahrain. Doctors, journalists and others have given harrowing accounts of torture and abuse at the hands of the police.

Earlier this year – before other uprisings pushed Bahrain off our front pages – the Bahrain race was postponed. But now Formula 1’s boss wants to go ahead with it. He says it isn’t his business to play politics, but knows that racing in Bahrain in front of the world’s cameras would play into the the bload-soaked government’s hands. Let’s stand up for the Bahraini nurses, students and others who’ve been felled and injured by telling Red Bull, which prides itself on a young, fun image, to say no to F1 in brutal Bahrain. Sign the petition now and send to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_f1_in_brutal_bahrain/?vl

The sports we play and watch can uplift us, but can also be used as pawns in political games. Together we can show that people standing for human rights everywhere, trump money and brutality anywhere.

With hope and determination,

Alex, Sam, Ricken, Mia, Pascal and the whole Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

Bahrain doctors to be tried for helping protesters
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article380678.ece

boss hopes to reinstate Bahrain
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26052011/66/ecclestone-hopes-fia-reinstates-bahrain.html

Bahraini

female doctors recount detention ‘horror’
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jojcZ8GM-0J_0gTLt5KsY12IiiJQ?docId=CNG.ccc3b0204b5da8e7cce5b8854b144bdf.611

France

24 correspondent tortured for covering pro-democracy demonstrations
http://en.rsf.org/bahrain-france-24-correspondent-tortured-30-05-2011,40374.html

Letter

to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile and Formula One Teams Association Regarding Bahrain Event
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/26/letter-federation-internationale-de-lautomobile-and-formula-one-teams-association-re

Citizens’

videos of Bahrain clampdown
http://revolutionreports.avaaz.org/tagged/bahrain

Bahrain

races to restore normality
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ad623440-856e-11e0-ae32-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1NRshjj3t

“We stand with the people of Egypt in their demand for freedom and basic rights, an end to the crackdown and internet blackout, and immediate democratic reform. We call on our governments to join us in our solidarity with the Egyptian people.”

Massive pro-democracy protests are spreading quickly across Egypt. Protesters are bravely speaking out against a repressive regime that has ruled the country for more than 30 years. The protesters are demanding the right to free speech, an end to government corruption and brutality, and free and fair elections.1

Today we’re joining an international grassroots movement to send a message of solidarity via radio and television to the people of Egypt and the Arab world.

So far, the protests have been overwhelmingly non-violent but the Egyptian government is cracking down hard. They have already arrested nearly a thousand protesters, declared a nationwide curfew, and cut off the internet.2 The regional media is one of our last ways to reach out to the people of Egypt.

So we’re joining with our friends at Avaaz.org—an international MoveOn-style organization—to build a massive wave of support from people around the world to stand in solidarity with non-violent protesters in Egypt.

Avaaz will be spreading the statement of solidarity via radio and television across North Africa and the Middle East, where the Egyptian people can hear it

You can join by signing the solidarity statement here: http://pol.moveon.org/

We enjoy the rights to free speech and peaceful assembly in this country, and we ought to use them to support others who hope for the same freedoms.

We must support those in Egypt who are choosing to stand up for democracy. The response by the Egyptian government has been needlessly brutal so far. Security forces are firing at protesters with live ammunition, beating people on the streets, and cutting off nearly every means of communication in an effort to maintain control and suppress the calls for democracy.

The situation on the ground is volatile and our hope is to support those in Egypt who are choosing peaceful protest as the means by which to push for change.

Our show of support could help not only bring newfound freedom to Egypt but possibly catalyze a chain reaction of reform across the Middle East unlike anything we’ve seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Last week the people of Tunisia peacefully deposed a long-ruling dictator, inspiring the people of Egypt to stand up. Now, calls for reform are spreading to other countries including Yemen, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Right now our voices, in a show of unwavering solidarity with people non-violently calling for change, could potentially help bring fundamental human rights and democracy to millions of people. Add your name to the global statement of solidarity to be broadcast by radio here:

http://pol.moveon.org/

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Robin, Duncan, Peter, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1.”Egyptians’ Fury Has Smoldered Beneath the Surface for Decades,” The New York Times, January 28, 2011

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205899&id=25944-17809870-tD9p82x&t=5

2. “Egyptian military deploys in Cairo under curfew,” MSNBC, January 28, 2010

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205898&id=25944-17809870-tD9p82x&t=6