Saudi Arabia 'day of rage' protest fizzles

With the exception of restive Eastern province, few turn out for a 'day of rage' protest that had been talked about for weeks in Saudi Arabia. The call for demonstrations had drawn a stern response from the government.

By Neela Banerjee, Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2011

Reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

A call for protests in Saudi Arabia that had been talked about for weeks drew only a handful of people Friday, allowing the kingdom to keep at bay the waves of political unrest that have battered the Arab world.

The "day of rage" fizzled in all but restive Eastern province, where the country's minority Shiites have been holding demonstrations for weeks. Several hundred protesters turned out in the cities of Hofuf, Awamiya and Qatif to demand the release of political prisoners, according to news service reports.

But no protests occurred in other major Saudi cities, said Maj. Gen. Mansour Turki of the Interior Ministry. "You're seen the response of the Saudi people," Turki said. "This is their response to the call for protest."

The prospect of street protests in the highly conservative kingdom provoked people's curiosity, but few Saudis expected a big turnout.

Even though Saudi Arabia has serious problems with youth unemployment, official corruption and discrimination against women and religious minorities, even the kingdom's critics do not want to overthrow the royal family. Instead they call for a gradual shift to a constitutional monarchy, a sentiment that all but saps the day of rage of its rage.

"The street in Saudi Arabia has never been part of the political process," said Khalid Dakhil, a sociologist and columnist for the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat. "And the political and economic situation here is not as pressing as in Egypt."....

Saudi Arabian security forces quell 'day of rage' protests

Heavy police presence and official warnings deter protests in Riyadh and result in small demonstrations in eastern provinces

By Ian Black, guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 March 2011


.....The calm in the Saudi capital may have been achieved partly by an incident on Thursday in the eastern city of al-Qatif, where police shot and wounded at least two protesters. Unconfirmed reports described trouble there again.

Protesters rallied in Hofuf, close to the eastern Ghawar oil field and major refinery installations. The city has seen scattered protests by Shias who complain of discrimination by the Sunni majority.

Saudi sources also reported marches involving hundreds of people in al-Ahsa and Awwamiya near al-Qatif.

Security in Riyadh was high-profile and intense, with helicopters hovering overhead and police checks on cars and individuals heading for mosques, where protests were expected after prayers.

"Police cruisers were given orders to pull over any car," tweeted Mohammed al-Qahtani, president of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association. "I saw several cars being searched by officers, and they checked IDs."

Disappointed activists counted more policemen and journalists than demonstrators. "Where were all these policemen and helicopters when Jeddah was drowning?" asked one Saudi — a sardonic reference to the floods that devastated the Red Sea coastal city twice in the last two years and fuelled anger and resentment at government incompetence.

Last week Saudi Arabia banned public protests following demonstrations by Shia groups in the eastern areas during which 22 people were arrested and later freed.

Activists had used a Facebook page to call for protests but many reformist Saudis said they did not know who the organisers were and raised concerns of a possible provocation by the secret police in a country where demonstrations are rare.....

Arab world witnesses more protests
Protests seen across many Middle East nations but "Day of Rage" fails to take off in Saudi after major security effort.

Al Jazeera, March 11, 2011

....Demonstrations in Saudi Arabia were supposed to start in after Friday prayers at noon but as the mosques emptied there were no signs of rallies, with security forces manning checkpoints in key locations across several cities.

Online activists using Facebook and Twitter had called for the "Day of Rage" and a "Saudi March 11 revolution" demanding a fully elected parliament and ruler.

In the strategic Olaya commercial centre of the capital Riyadh, where protesters were urged to congregate, hundreds of security personnel surrounded the mosque and inspected motorists' identification documents.

Clerics sermonised against demonstrations, saying public agitation was unjustified under Islamic teachings and would only spread chaos.

The Red Sea port city of Jeddah, the second biggest Saudi city, was also calm with a significant numbers of police on the streets.

Tensions were high in the eastern province city of Qatif, where three Shia protesters were shot and wounded by police dispersing a demonstration late on Thursday.

The shooting happened when several hundred protesters, all Shia and including women, took to the streets of the city to demand the release of nine Shia prisoners, said a witness, requesting anonymity.

A small demonstration calling for reforms and the release of Shia prisoners also took place Friday, a witness told the AFP news agency, but there were no reports of unrest.

Two activists said more than 200 protesters had rallied in the city of Hofuf, which is close to the eastern Ghawar oil field and major refinery installations.

The city has seen scattered protests in the last two weeks by minority Shias, who complain of discrimination in the face of the country's dominant Sunni majority.

Kuwait demonstration....