Saudi Arabia 'day of rage' protest fizzles
Few turn out for a 'day of rage' protest that had been talked about for weeks in Saudi Arabia. The call for demonstrations, organized on Facebook and by word of mouth, had drawn a stern response from the government.
By Neela Banerjee, Los Angeles Times
9:03 AM PST, 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 for now the waves of political unrest that have battered the Middle East and North Africa.
In the end, the "day of rage," organized on Facebook and by word of mouth, fizzled. No protests occurred in any Saudi cities except for a small demonstration in Al-Ahsa in restive Eastern province, said Maj. Gen. Mansour Turki of the Interior Ministry. Turki said he did not know if any arrests were made in connection with the Al-Ahsa protest. Human-rights activists did not return phone calls seeking comment on the events.
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, among other things, 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.
But the near total absence of protesters also proved the efficacy of the Saudi government's relentlessly stern response to the call for demonstrations. Over the last week, the government had gathered clerics, the media, the foreign minister and Interior Ministry to assert that protests are banned and anti-Islamic, which human-rights activists deny.
The state had pledged to shut down demonstrations swiftly. On Thursday night, Saudi security forces used percussion grenades and bullets to disperse a protest in the city of Qatif, wounding up to five people, witnesses said. Saudi activists saw the state's response in Qatif as a warning to any Saudis hoping to protest Friday.
By early Friday morning, the government had established an overwhelming force in the capital. Riyadh's swank central Olaya district was clotted with police and security vehicles. The Al-Rajhi mosque on the outskirts of town, where small protests had occurred before, was ringed with police cars. Checkpoints were set up by the mosque and the Court of Grievances, the country's top administrative court, which abuts a proposed demonstration site. Helicopters crisscrossed the skies all day. Few Saudis were out.
Another protest has been called for later in the month, but it remains unclear if that will draw anyone either.
neela.banerjee@latimes.com
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
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