Dubai, March 09: In the latest Saudi move to curb demonstrations on Friday, the Saudi Shura council urged people on Monday to ignore “misleading” calls for rallies, which many analysts believe will be “limited” if ever they take place.
“Majlis Al Shura [Consultative Council] stressed “the importance of preserving the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and not paying any attention to misleading calls for the organisation of demonstrations, sit-ins and marches,” the council was quoted by the Saudi News Agency.
Those calls, the statement added, are “incompatible with the principles of the Islamic law through which the Saudi leadership and people have been governed in all their affairs”.
Speaker of the council, Abdullah Bin Mohammad Bin Ebrahim Al Al Shaikh, was also quoted as emphasising “the necessity that every citizen should preserve the security and stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and adhere to the Saudi unique approach of the open door policy and writing directly to the leadership or any official to achieve a demand or eliminate a grievance.”
The Shura council position came a day after Saudi Arabia’s council of senior clerics issues a statement on Sunday forbidding public protests.
On Saturday, the Saudi interior ministry stressed that the laws prohibits all forms of demonstrations, marches and sit-ins, and calls for demonstrations, “because these contradict the principles of Islamic Law (Sharia), the values and norms of the Saudi society, they further lead to public disorder, harm public and private interests, breach the rights of others, and wreak havoc that result in bloodshed, violation of people’s sanctity and loss of their possessions, and encroachment on public and private properties.”
Speaking to Gulf News, Saudi interior ministry’s spokesperson, Major General Mansour Al Turki said “the security organisations are authorised by law to deal with any law breakers and to stop any violation”.
Amnesty International, meanwhile, has called on the Saudi Arabian government to allow peaceful protests.
Last Friday, several hundred Shiites protested in the Eastern Province, calling for the release of Shiite cleric, Shaikh Tawfiq Al Aamer, and other detainees.
Release
Aamer, arrested on February 27 for staging small protests in the eastern part of the Saudi Arabia, was released on Sunday night.
Earlier, “unknown” groups called on Facebook to hold two demonstrations in Saudi Arabia this month. The first was called “Day of Rage” on March 11.
Turki denied what some websites said on Monday that the demonstrations of the “Day of Rage” were held in different Saudi cities on Monday. “These are all fabrications,” Turki said.
Many Saudis said they don’t expect any demonstrations, and if there were any, then they would be limited.
Last month some intellectuals and activists petitioned King Abdullah urging him to introduce major political and economic reforms. The plea came after the king announced social benefits of $37 billion (Dh135.9 billion) to Saudis. The benefits, “are surely welcomed and undoubtedly is a step in the right direction,” said Khalid Al Dakhil, a Saudi political analyst who signed the petition.
-Agencies