(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Saudi establishment has deployed its army to the tiny Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, aiding and abetting in al-Khalifa’s crimes to heavily crackdown on the popular uprising of the oppressed Bahraini people and now is smashing the wave of peaceful Islamic Awakening back at home.
We have conducted an interview with political analyst Kamel Wazne from the Lebanese capital city of Beirut to further discuss the issue.
What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Q: Mr. Wazne how significant is that these protests have now moved into Riyadh and now Mecca as well?
Wazne: Well, obviously the legality of the issue and the merit of the issues indicate that it is not the issue of the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, it is actually the issue of the kingdom itself.
The policy of the royal family for a very long time did not address the needs of the people and the needs of the people now surfaced with what is taking place around the region.
I think that there is widespread corruption within the Saudi monarchy, we know those royal families, the princes and princesses, they receive all the allocation of money out of the sales of the oil at the expense of the Saudi population, I think this movement is resonated very well with real demands and real movements within the Saudi community.
And at the beginning started in the eastern part with the arrest of sheikh Nemr al-Nemr, which we still should be calling in the international community to release him immediately because he was expressing his civil rights which has allowed under the international norms, but I think that the problem is getting out of hand for the Saudis and I think that it is going to be problematic for the royal family, which for a very long time tried to dodge the situation.
The level of discrimination that exists in the eastern part, actually is spreading to other civil rights issues, that is actually giving the movement spirit and I think that the Saudis should not crackdown on these demonstrators, the Saudis should look very carefully, the Saudi government, the Saudi monarchy should look very carefully at what is taking place and start addressing what is needed.
Release all the political prisoners, stop the inhumane treatment of those prisoners especially Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr which has been beaten rapidly according to his family while he is in abduction, because this level of hostility should not be exerted in this holly month of Ramadan, or any month of the year.
Q: Mr. Wazne do you see any signs that the Saudi Monarchy will honor many of the things that you have spoken about? i.e. giving rights to political prisoners and also to free Sheikh Nemr al- Nemr?
Wazne: I think not any time soon, but I think there is a kind of dodging for the reality, that the Saudis still live in denial, still have the backing of the United States.
I think the orders from the United States is to continue the crackdown against the peaceful demonstrators as it is ordered from the United States to crackdown against the demonstrators in Bahrain. I think the Saudis while they are pushing their luck in Syria; supporting what is taking place in Syria, I think they should address what is taking place inside of the Saudi Arabia.
I think the monarchy has to look at the political issue, the economic issue, the social issues of the country, but I think that the level of demonstrations probably will escalate and I said before that this is a real movement and has a lot of legs and the Saudis will be surprised that how magnificent this will be, if they do not address the real issue here a situation which requires the attention of the free world and I think that the Saudis shortened the process by thinking that they can crackdown and this will end.
I am looking at the picture, actually, and I was looking just like two weeks at the pictures, now there is a huge crowd, actually, starting to be entering the scene and demanding the change that is required in the Saudi Arabia.
/106