Friday, July 01, 2011

" It is not easy to be an activist in Saudi Arabia"

People in Saudi Arabia don’t have much personal experience of political organisation or protest. But we have watched the uprisings in the region very closely, feeling that these were our revolutions too - we are all Arab and we all feel the pain of dictatorships.

When the revolutions began in Tunisia and Egypt, our government here was very afraid. They dedicated billions of dollars and created 30,000 new jobs in the security sector to combat any potential unrest, as well as taking steps to strengthen the religious establishment even further. The government knows that in Saudi Arabia, religion has huge power. Here, we are told that to protest goes against Islam - and that to have a good relationship with God we first of all must have good relations with our king.

It’s true that some Saudis want to keep the regime the way it is. The royal family alone has some 20,000 members and they control everything - all the government ministries. And there are many rich people here because of our oil - and this oil is all we have. But a lot of people do suffer and live a hard life. And they know if they raise their voices, the consequences will be very serious. It’s not that people don’t want change; it’s that they don’t have the ability to bring it about.

(...)

It is not easy to be an activist in Saudi Arabia. I have been taken into custody for investigation many times; I have been beaten; my wife is banned from leaving Saudi Arabia; and my Twitter, my Facebook account and my website are blocked. I have no doubt they want to put me in prison and one day this will happen – the authorities are just waiting for a good opportunity. Full story...

Don't miss:
  1. "Where is Khaled?" Saudi man who defied State may have disappeared...
  2. Britain training Saudi forces to crush "Arab spring..."
  3. U.S. quietly expanding defense ties with Saudis on vast scale...
  4. Saudi "vice and virtue" chief sacked for declaring gender mixing is not against Islam..
  5. Saudi royals loot national wealth...
  6. Saudi prince tells royal family to flee the coming revolution before it's too late...
  7. Arabs turning their backs on America, thanks to Obama and his silence on uprisings... 

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