Bahrain has cancelled next month’s Formula One grand prix as anti-government street protests continued.
Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the owner of the F1 contract, said that the kingdom must "focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date."
The race, due to have been on March 13th, is the kingdom's biggest international event and has been held annually since 2004.
The week-long unrest has already affected Bahrain's economy. International rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the government's credit ratings because of concerns about political turmoil.
Meanwhile a group of young protesters camped out in a central square of the capital called for the removal of the entire ruling monarchy as part of sweeping demands to call off a the uprising.
The call stakes out the most uncompromising demands of protesters to date, most of whom have only demanded the weakening of the monarchy. It was impossible to determine how much weight the group has in the country as a whole.
Tensions are still high after battles that saw riot police open fire on protesters trying to reclaim landmark Pearl Square last week. At least eight people have been killed and hundreds injured in the clashes since last week.
Bahrain holds particular importance to the West as the host of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which is the main US military counterweight to Iranian efforts to expand its military influence into the Gulf.
A manifesto today from a group calling itself “Youth of February 14” - after the day of the first protest marches - apparently seeks to raise the stakes of demands ahead of possible talks between the opposition and the monarchy.
“We demand the overthrow of the oppressive Al Khalifa regime,” it said. “The people will choose the system they will be subjected to.”
To underline their contempt for the monarchy, the protesters set up a chair resembling one belonging to a royal with a sign beneath it that says in Arabic “And does the throne of the oppressor stay?”
Agencies