"Demands for reform pressure Saudi king" by Associated Press / February 28, 2011
As more than 100 leading Saudi academics and activists urged King Abdullah yesterday to enact sweeping reforms, including setting up a constitutional monarchy, the king ordered that government-sector workers with temporary contracts be given permanent jobs in a move to preempt the unrest that has engulfed other Arab nations.
They don't sound like "terrorists" to me.
The activists’ statement, seen on several Saudi websites, reflects the undercurrent of tension that has simmered for years in the world’s largest oil producer.
While Abdullah is seen as a reformer, the pace of those reforms has been slow as Saudi officials balance the need to push the country forward with the perennial pressure from hard-line clergy in the conservative nation.
The statement, which was signed by 119 academics, activists, and businessmen, said the kingdom is facing a “prevalence of corruption and nepotism, the exacerbation of factionalism, and a widening in the gap between state and society.’’
They said oil wealth should be better distributed to the people instead of being channeled to expensive projects with few immediate benefits....
Do I ever understand that feeling!!
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"Demonstrations won’t be tolerated in Saudi Arabia and its security forces will act against anyone taking part in them, the Interior Ministry said yesterday.
The warning was issued a day after about 100 members of the Shi’ite minority staged a protest in an eastern region of the kingdom (AP)."
I'm waiting for U.S. reaction.
"Nearly 200 Shi’ites chanting “We want freedom!’’ protested in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province yesterday, even as the foreign minister warned that the oil-rich nation will take strong action if activists take to the streets.
I'm sure Obama is warming up those vocal cords in support.
The gathering in Qatif by members of the country’s Shi’ite Muslim minority is a smaller version of a planned “Day of Rage’’ tomorrow to demand the Saudi regime’s ouster.
The government, which is working to quell the unrest, accuses Shi’ites from outside the country of spurring the protests.
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"Saudi police fire on Shi’ite protest; Kingdom keeps a wary eye on civil unrest" by Associated Press / March 11, 2011
Saudi police opened fire yesterday to disperse a protest in a part of the country where minority Shi’ites live, leaving at least one man injured, as the government toughened its efforts to prevent a wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world from reaching the kingdom.
The violence raised concern about a crackdown ahead of planned protests after Friday prayers in different cities throughout the oil-rich kingdom. Violence there could reverberate through the world’s markets because of the importance of Saudi oil exports.
And why we get not a word from the U.S. government.
Discord is common between authorities, and the country’s Shi’ites, who make up 10 percent of the kingdom’s 23 million citizens. They have long complained of discrimination, saying they are barred from key positions in the military and government and are not given an equal share of the country’s wealth.
As discontent rises across the Middle East and North Africa, Saudi authorities are increasingly determined to prevent the unrest from spreading to other cities.
Saudi security forces have deployed around the capital of Riyadh on the eve of planned protests calling for democratic reforms.
Witnesses reported seeing riot police and special forces with batons and tear gas canisters yesterday, particularly around shopping malls and main roads.
The pro-Western monarchy is concerned protests could open footholds for Shi’ite powerhouse Iran and has accused foreigners of stoking the protests, which are officially forbidden.
Am I EVER SICK of the Zionist War Paper and its Propaganda!
Despite the ban and a warning that security forces will act against them, protesters demanding the release of political prisoners took to the streets for a second day in the city of Qatif.
I applaud them, and may Allah watch over them.
Several hundred protesters, some wearing masks to avoid being identified, marched after dark asking for “Freedom for prisoners.’’
Police, who were lined up opposite the protesters, fired percussion bombs followed by gunfire, causing the crowd to scatter, a witness said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of government retaliation.
The witness said at least one protester was injured and lifted by others to a car for treatment. It was not clear how the protester was hurt.
A resident said the Saudi authorities also beat some protesters with clubs. The resident said up to 12 protesters were injured, and some were arrested at the local hospital.
It was not possible to verify this information independently.
Translation: They checked with Israel and they said they knew nothing about it.
Videos dated yesterday and posted on social websites showed what appeared to be shooting. Crowds, of mostly men with a few children, were gathered in a small street, separated by an empty plot from the apparent source of fire. Occasional bursts of gunfire can be heard on the videos. The crowd was shouting “Peaceful, peaceful.’’
I'm getting the feeling governments do not know the meaning of that word.
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"Saudi Arabian police block protests in capital" by Associated Press / March 12, 2011
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Several hundred people protested in at least four locations in Shi’ite-dominated eastern Saudi Arabia yesterday, but hundreds of police in the country’s capital prevented rallies calling for democratic reforms.
Certainly Obama has said something by now.
Police blocked roads and set up random checkpoints in Riyadh, searching residents and vehicles around a central mosque as large numbers of people gathered for Friday prayers, after Saudi activists set up online groups calling for protests in the capital.
In the eastern city of Qatif and nearby areas where the country’s minority Shi’ites live, several hundred protesters shouted slogans calling for reforms and equality between Shi’ites and Sunnis.
Whassat?
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"More than 200 protested outside the Interior Ministry to demand the release of detainees in the largest demonstration in the capital, Riyadh, since the regional outbreak of prodemocracy unrest.
Related: Saudi Streets Silent
Well, not anymore. I guess the King is behind it now.
Saudi authorities ban demonstrations and are increasingly determined to prevent the wave of unrest sweeping across the Middle East from spreading to the kingdom.
The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin....
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"Saudi demonstrators gathered outside the Interior Ministry yesterday morning, demanding the release of political prisoners held without trial, activists said.
The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association said police detained about half of the estimated 100 protesters and placed them on buses. Saudi Arabia has witnessed small rallies mainly by the country’s minority Shi’ites in eastern Saudi Arabia. The protesters urged the government to release detainees and showed support for Shi’ite demonstrators in nearby Bahrain.
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If the U.S. government had issued any criticism in my Boston Globe I would have posted it.
