DTN News - SAUDI ARABIA UNREST: Saudi Arabian Security Forces Quell 'Day Of Rage' Protests....NSI News Source Info # 1711
Saudi security forces came out in strength in Riyadh on a "day of rage" organised by pro-democracy campaigners who managed only small demonstrations in the eastern provinces.
Expectations that the unrest sweeping the Arab world in the last few weeks would spread to its most conservative kingdom appeared to have been dashed by pre-emptive security measures and stern official warnings against any protests.
Far larger demonstrations rocked Yemen, where tens of thousands of pro and anti-government protesters took to the streets as President Ali Abdullah Saleh struggled to maintain his grip.
Clashes broke out in the nearby island state of Bahrain, where Shia protesters were confronted by riot police guarding the royal court in Manama. Demonstrations were also held in Kuwait by stateless people demanding their rights.
The calm in the Saudi capital may have been achieved partly by an incident on Thursday in the eastern city of al-Qatif, where police shot and wounded at least two protesters. Unconfirmed reports described trouble there again.
Protesters rallied in Hofuf, close to the eastern Ghawar oil field and major refinery installations. The city has seen scattered protests by Shias who complain of discrimination by the Sunni majority.
Saudi sources also reported marches involving hundreds of people in al-Ahsa and Awwamiya near al-Qatif.
Security in Riyadh was high-profile and intense, with helicopters hovering overhead and police checks on cars and individuals heading for mosques, where protests were expected after prayers.
"Police cruisers were given orders to pull over any car," tweeted Mohammed al-Qahtani, president of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association. "I saw several cars being searched by officers, and they checked IDs."
Disappointed activists counted more policemen and journalists than demonstrators. "Where were all these policemen and helicopters when Jeddah was drowning?" asked one Saudi — a sardonic reference to the floods that devastated the Red Sea coastal city twice in the last two years and fuelled anger and resentment at government incompetence.
http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/03/dtn-news-saudi-arabia-unrest-saudi.html
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