Duncan Hamilton: David Cameron’s hopes for reform in Bahrain will be lucky to get off the starting grid

Will the effect of continued Western engagement in that divided country act as a catalyst for change at the expense of the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty? Or will it serve simply to present a distorted vision of a nation once more at peace after spasms of unrest?

The debate on whether to hold the Bahrain Grand Prix matters, just as the boycott of South Africa mattered all those years ago. It is an age-old argument as to whether isolation or engagement is more likely to encourage reform.

David Cameron refused to call for the race to be cancelled, believing that in Bahrain “there is a process of reform underway and this government backs that reform and wants to help promote that reform”. I disagree, but with the cars on the grid, the time for that argument has passed. What matters most, therefore, is that we turn the spotlight on what is actually happening in Bahrain.

Reporting human rights abuse and challenging a discredited and violent regime through unwanted publicity may not have the moral high ground of a boycott, but it is a worthy second prize.

The uprising in Bahrain in February 2011 was brutally suppressed by security forces, with assistance from Saudi Arabia. In fairness to David Cameron, it did indeed set in motion a process of reform culminating in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). That report was a damning indictment of the regime and identified multiple horrific human rights violations. It demanded systemic change. King Hamad, encouragingly, accepted the report in full and pledged radical change. That’s why David Cameron is willing to give the regime his support.

He apparently accepts the intention of the regime to change the habits of several lifetimes, and to reach out to the majority Shia Muslim population. He believes, presumably, that the al-Khalifa family is now convinced of the necessity for legality, transparency and democracy.

But is that trust remotely justified? Getting a picture of what is actually happening in Bahrain isn’t easy. While F1 racing journalists are welcome, anyone with an interest in false imprisonment rather than false starts is being kept at arms length.

Hence, Sky Sports journalists are allowed in, but Sky News journalists are not. Similarly, CNN, Reuters and the Financial Times have all had political journalists excluded. An odd tack for a regime with nothing to hide. But no government can conceal the truth for long in the information age. An Amnesty International report this week provides a damning critique of the broken promises of the Bahrain regime.

The central recommendation of the BICI report was the establishment of an independent “National Commission” to implement the changes agreed. It was the vital cross-community vehicle needed to inspire confidence in the reform programme.

In reality, 15 of the 19 members appointed were pro-regime – including the serving minister for justice. The chairman? The president of the upper house of the Bahrain Parliament; a chamber entirely selected by the king. In short, it was neither independent nor a body which could carry the confidence of the people.

But what of the central issue of justice for the deaths, torture, threats and intimidation of protesters? The BICI report demanded accountability. In reality, the existing discredited prosecution service remains and no senior member of the security forces has been held to account for the killing or torture of protesters. Of those low-ranking officials charged, hardly any have been convicted, and then on reduced charges.

Political protesters remain in detention for crimes as heinous as “participation in an illegal gathering of more than five people”. Torture and the use of live ammunition and tear gas apparently remain common. The stark division between the lives of Sunni and Shia remains. This has been an attempt to rearrange the deck chairs, and indeed to build a few new tables. But life aboard the Bahraini Titanic appears otherwise unchanged. Certainly, any confidence expressed by David Cameron that reform has taken root is at best hopelessly premature, and at worst a fig leaf to avoid offending a regime with which the UK has an uncomfortably close affiliation.

Bear in mind, the original al-Khalifa regime was installed, by us, in 1820 in return for Bahrain becoming a British protectorate. But a shared – and dubious – history cannot justify the pathetically weak stance in the 21st century. Why is the Countess of Wessex accepting jewels last December or the Bahraini Crown Prince being invited to the recent Royal wedding?

The UK government couldn’t stop the Grand Prix, but why can’t it stop the King of Bahrain – the man at the apex of this brutal regime – being invited to dine, at our expense, at the upcoming Diamond Jubilee banquet? The international community should be turning up the heat, but instead we appear to be offering the al-Khalifa regime legitimacy. That must cease until the promise of reform is fulfilled.