The head of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia says that the staggeringly corrupt and repressed Saudi regime is ripe for an Arab-spring revolution.
“It is only a matter of time before the revolutions that have swept the Arab world in the past year reach the Saudi kingdom,” Dr Saad al-Faqih said in an article published in The Guardian on Saturday.
Al-Faqih said that most of the factors that led to a series of revolutions throughout the Arab world, also known as Arab-spring, are present in the Saudi kingdom but fear deters reformers from declaring their views.
The Saudi activist argues that the monarchy holds tens of thousands of political prisoners, most of whom are never formally charged.
He added that unemployment rates are soaring and a large portion of the population live in poverty and that Corruption has prevented oil wealth from having any impact on the quality of life of the average citizen.
“What is worse is that the royal family continues to treat the country and its people as its private property,” Al-Faqih added.
Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in the Kingdom's east, mainly in Qatif and Awamiyah, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.
However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the oil-rich region.
Saudi forces have also arrested more than 700 people including prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses expression critical of the government.”
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30 September 2012 - 05:33
News ID: 352230
The head of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia says that the staggeringly corrupt and repressed Saudi regime is ripe for an Arab-spring revolution.
