Saudi Kingdom Rocked by Protests
by Stephen Lendman
http://www.globalresearch.ca/coverStoryPictures2/32011.jpg
<
http://www.globalresearch.ca> Global Research, July 24, 2012
On February 14, 1945, Franklin Roosevelt met with Saudi King Ibn Saud on the
USS Quincy. A nearly seven decade relationship followed.
America was guaranteed access to what the State Department called "a
stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material
prizes in world history."
It explains much about Washington's obsession with controlling the region.
It has around two-thirds of the world's proved oil reserves and major
natural gas supplies.
Little wonder America supports what some observers call the world's most
repressive regime. State terror is policy. Freedom is prohibited. Authority
rests solely with the ruling Al Saud monarch and members of the royal
family.
Currently King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz holds power. Nearly aged 88, he's in
poor health. Salman bin Abdul Aziz is crown prince. He also has health
problems. A stroke left him bedridden for weeks. They and other family
members rule despotically.
Democracy is strictly forbidden. The nation's Constitution affords ordinary
citizens and other residents no rights. Women are especially marginalized
and denied.
Political parties and national elections are prohibited. Saudi kings appoint
a Council of Ministers. It includes a prime minister, first and second
deputies, 20 ministers, various advisors, and heads of major autonomous
organizations.
The Kingdom has 13 provinces. Ruling monarchs appoint governors. They're
either princes or close royal family relatives. In 1993, ministers became
subject to four-year term limitations. In 1997, a Consultative Council was
expanded from 60 to 90 members.
Media are tightly controlled. Most web sites are blocked. Islam is the
Kingdom's state religion. Observing others is prohibited.
Anyone dissenting is subject to arbitrary arrest and detention. Political
critics, bloggers, academics, foreign nationals, and humanitarian activists
are especially vulnerable.
Saudi journalist Khaled al-Harbi said annual Kingdom revenue exceeds $400
billion. Amounts fluctuate depending on oil prices. At the same time, the
average Saudi citizen earns around $400. Al-Harbi says 60% of the population
live in poverty.
Official Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia (Shura) figures claim 22% of
Saudis are impoverished (around three million people). Including migrants
and other non-residents, it's believed the true figure approaches al-Harbi's
estimate.
A wealth disparity chasm between rich and poor exists. Income depends on how
royal family members distribute it. They and privileged elites get most of
it. Most Saudis go begging. Migrants and other non-citizens fare worse.
Unemployment is high. Official figures mask its severity. Young people
comprise two-thirds of the Kingdom's 26 million population. An estimated 40%
of 20 to 24 year-olds have no jobs. Even well educated Saudis are affected.
So are most women.
Around 80% of workers are non-nationals. Most are regional migrants. With no
rights whatever, they work for near slave wages. Saudi citizens are shut
out.
The Kingdom is largely Sunni. Minority Shiites are marginalized and
persecuted. Deep-seated social tensions result. Eastern Province areas are
especially affected. Around 90% of proved Saudi reserves are located there.
Significant human rights abuses are commonplace. They include extreme
injustice, arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, torture and other
physical abuse, public whippings and executions, radical Sunni Wahhabism,
corruption, lack of transparency, violence against women, human trafficking,
and total lack of freedom.
The combination of poverty, monarchal privilege, and despotism is
combustible. Protests erupt. They began principally in Qatif. They spread to
other parts of the country.
Last March, large-scale ones followed the arrest and detention of senior
cleric Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer. At issue was his call for constitutional
monarchal rule. Security forces responded brutally.
At the time, political analyst Mohamed al-Massari told Press TV that
"counter-force" would respond to state repression. "We still have people who
are willing to defend their honor with arms," he said. Expect thousands to
take to the streets.
Attacking women is especially "stupid," he added. It will have "dire
repercussions," he predicted.
Protests and public displays are strictly forbidden. Increasingly Saudis are
expressing public anger anyway. July 9 provided another reason. Prominent
Shiite cleric Shaikh Nimr al-Nimr was arrested after being shot in the leg.
He was wanted for sedition. Police confronted him. Saudi state media said:
"When the aforementioned person and those with him tried to resist the
security men and initiated shooting and crashed into one of the security
patrols while trying to escape, he was dealt with in accordance with the
situation and responded to in kind and arrested after he was wounded in his
thigh."
Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour Turki was cited as the
source.
Allegedly he sparked Awamiya village protests. Thousands participated.
Security forces confronted them. Numerous injuries and arrests followed.
Al-Nimr's brother said he was wanted for his political views. He supported
Shiite issues and spoke out prominently. He demanded long denied rights. As
a result, he was targeted. Twice before (in 2004 and 2006) he was arrested
and detained.
In January 2008, he spoke publicly for creating a "righteous opposition
front." He represents views growing numbers of Saudis support. As a result,
he and others like him threaten established rule.
Increasingly the House of Saud resembles a house of cards. Royal family
members and Washington allies are worried. They have good reason.
After winter 2011 Bahraini protests erupted, similar ones began in the
Kingdom's Eastern Province. "Iron Fist" repression confronted them.
Nonetheless, they continue and spread.
The holy city of Medina is affected. So are Jeddah, Ar'ar, and Abha. Major
demonstrations erupted in Saudi's capital, Riyadh.
Frequent ones occur. Anti-regime slogans are chanted. Unemployed Saudis
demand jobs. People across the Kingdom want political freedom, social
justice, release of political prisoners, and the end of Al Saud rule.
At issue are longstanding grievances. The regime itself is targeted. Western
media scoundrels largely suppress what's going on. US television ignores it.
On July 10, a rare New York Times article headlined "Angry Throngs at a
Funeral in Saudi Arabia," saying:
Thousands attended a funeral of a killed Eastern Province protester. It's
"long been a focal point of anger at the rigidly conservative Sunni
monarchy, and for Shiite complaints about a policy of entrenched, official
discrimination."
Unrest persists. Detaining dissidents fuel it. So do "growing calls for
political freedoms and civil rights." Official Saudi sources downplay what's
happening. The Times article left much unexplained. A snapshot only was
provided. Context was omitted.
September 23 is Saudi National Day. In 2009, Hillary Clinton "salute(d) King
Abdullah for his leadership on key regional and global challenges."
He "established a powerful dialogue that seeks to promote the principles of
moderation, tolerance and mutual respect - core values that we all share."
She made similar comments in 2010 and 2011. The Kingdom's alliance with
Washington is more than about oil. It's a partnership furthering imperial
lawlessness. Deep Saudi pockets help fund it.
Recycled petrodollars also buy US weapons, Treasuries, and other American
investments. Preserving the relationship is prioritized. Putting lipstick on
Saudi monarchal despotism tries to bolster it.
On July 17, this writer appeared on Press TV's News Analysis program. So did
analysts Ali al-Ahmed and Kamel Wazne.
According to Wazne, Washington cares only about keeping Saudi oil flowing.
It has utter "disregard for the people of Saudi Arabia and those people who
are demonstrating on the streets."
People have no say, he stressed. Repression and social inequality are rife.
Royal family members have no interest in their own people. Sheikh al-Nemr
"called outright for the downfall of the monarchy and he called for the
downfall of Al Saud."
Eastern Province winter 2011 protests mushroomed to many others across the
Kingdom. "These people marching in the streets are determined" to achieve
change. They want "a different political system."
This writer added that perhaps the fuse was lit last year. What Eastern
Province Shiites began, Saudis across the Kingdom continue. Analyst Ali
al-Ahmed predicts an "inevitable collapse." The fullness of time may prove
him prescient.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
<mailto:lendmanstephen_at_sbcglobal.net> lendmanstephen_at_sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking,
Government Collusion and Class War"
<
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html>
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Tue Jul 24 2012 - 18:05:55 EDT
