On Sunday three innocent protesters were murdered in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia it has been reported. The region, which is predominantly comprised of Shia Muslims, has been a source of great tension for the horrendous Al-Saud regime, which has systematically targeted key figures in the movement to help destabilise any form of dissent against the tyrannical oppression they are faced with.
Whilst one of the victims has not been identified, two have. They have been named as Akbar Hassan Shahkouri and Mohammedredha Felfel, both of whom were shot dead. The virulent protests came as they witnessed pertinent Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr being harangued in his car before he was arrested by Riyadh’s henchmen for no apparent reason given to the media.
This hardly comes as a surprise considering the significance of the Arab Spring across the region. Whilst they have been relatively successful in countries like Tunisia and to a lesser degree Egypt, states such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have managed to quell them with assistance from the United States in the form of advisors and military equipment. Dating back to February of last year the protests have been put down with consummate ease, with the threat of the number of corpses increasing and deterring people from marching on the streets.
Towns such as Qatif and Awamiyah have been staunch in their protest and stuck to their guns. They have demanded the release of all political prisoners and to end widespread discrimination which the Shia populous of the region feel is pretty open and abhorrent against them. Under the surface, a mood of angst and hatred has been brewing and it erupted in November of 2011 when five protesters were shot dead.
Instead of a peaceful movement the town of Qatif has witnessed protests that have become more vicious and violent in nature and expectedly so after being brutally attacked by Saudi forces. Much like the protests in New York on Wall Street, they have gone viral across the country. The latest protests commenced in the holy city of Medina. Even the capital Riyadh was subjected to sporadic protesting, but nothing comparable to those as witnessed in Qatif.
With relatively little defence, the Saudi Interior Ministry offered little insight into the demands of neither the protesters, nor a desire to meet them. A meagrely worded statement read that “all forms of demonstrations, marches and protests were prohibited.” Clearly he had intentions to illustrate how Saudi Arabia was moving towards being “democratic” with such a mind-numbingly stupid statement.
The Saudi’s have done little to disperse the image of the tyrannical muscles it flexes. The state is misogynistic, racist and one of the worst practitioners of torture and a variety of other abuses of human rights, making it a perfect ally for the United States of course. Human Rights Watch, which routinely critiques states, is aware of the situation. According to their latest report on Saudi Arabia they stated “the Saudi regime routinely represses expression critical of the government”.
This was evidently demonstrated with the murder of three innocent protesters. Clearly the situation is going to get worse before it gets better and the key objective will be the removal of this regime from the perspective of the protestors. The United States which advocates democracy will be turning a blind eye to the regimes atrocious behaviour, maintaining their “special relationship”.
Wow, great article. Awesome.