By William Fisher
While pro-democracy demonstrations in Yemen’s capital, Santa’s, appear to be peaceful and with little police presence, the Yemeni government is deploying their security services and recruiting gangs of thugs to kill and injure demonstrators in other cities where there is little media attention.
This is the conclusion of Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), one of the world’s preeminent advocacy organizations. As an example, Stork charges that security forces killed at least nine and injured 150 at peaceful protests in Aden.
HRW says Yemeni security forces “repeatedly used excessive, deadly force on largely peaceful protesters.” Security forces “fired weapons that included assault rifles and machine guns at the protesters, killing at least nine and possibly twice that number, and injuring more than 150, some of them children,” Stork charged.
In a 20-page report, “Days of Bloodshed in Aden,” HRW documents attacks on protesters in Aden from February 16 to 25. The group found that police and military forces also chased and shot at protesters trying to flee the assaults. The forces stopped doctors and ambulances trying to reach protest sites, “fired at people who tried to rescue victims, and removed evidence, such as bullet casings, from the shooting scenes,” HRW says.
“Shooting into crowds is no way to respond to peaceful protests,” said Stork, “Governments in the region and beyond should make clear to Yemen that international assistance comes with the condition of respecting human rights.”
HRW says its report is based on more than 50 interviews with injured protesters and witnesses to the killings, relatives of protesters who were killed, doctors, paramedics, and human rights activists. Human Rights Watch also analyzed video and photo materials that witnesses to the protests provided, as well as hospital records and ballistic evidence that protesters collected after the shootings.
Since 2007 the strategic port of Aden has been the center of protests in Yemen’s southern provinces, where inhabitants are seeking increased economic opportunities and political autonomy or secession. The South was a separate republic until it unified with the North in 1990. On February 3 protesters in Aden and other parts of the South joined calls across Yemen for an end to the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In Aden, security forces have systematically attempted to prevent large protests, although they have allowed them in the capital, Sana'a, since February 22. Nevertheless, groups of several hundred people have protested against President Saleh in various neighborhoods of Aden almost daily since February 15.
Government officials blamed the Southern Movement for the bloodshed. The movement is a loose coalition that has been leading both the protests in the South since 2007 and the more recent demonstrations in Aden against Saleh.
Human Rights Watch found in Aden that security and intelligence forces, including members of Central Security, the general police, the army, and the National Security Bureau, routinely used lethal force that was clearly excessive in relation to the danger presented by the protesters.
In all cases Human Rights Watch documented, security forces used teargas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition, including from assault rifles and machine guns.
HRW says, “Numerous witnesses described the protesters as unarmed and stated in most cases that the protesters presented no threat to others or to surrounding property. Some of the protests were entirely peaceful. During others, protesters threw stones as security forces tried to disperse them.”
The majority of victims were young men and boys. HRW documented the killings of three boys -- two 17-year-olds and one 16-year-old. Many of the injured were children as well. Human Rights Watch also documented several cases in which security forces killed or wounded bystanders. One man was hit and killed by a bullet as he observed the protests through the window of his home, HRW claims.
HRW charges that security forces “quickly removed bullet casings from the streets, and authorities forced families to bury the bodies of those killed immediately, in an apparent attempt to suppress evidence and to prevent massive public funeral processions. In at least one case, the authorities forged a forensic report of a person killed in a protest.”
The exact number of those killed and injured during the attacks in Aden remains unknown. Authorities did not release information on casualties and prevented independent observers from reaching government hospitals. Many of those who were injured did not go to the government hospitals after learning that security forces were entering them and arresting injured protesters, and the capacity of private hospitals was overstretched.
Yemeni security forces detained dozens of peaceful protesters and Southern Movement activists in Aden during the same period, Human Rights Watch found. Some detainees were released, but Human Rights Watch documented at least eight cases in which Southern Movement and activists “disappeared” after being detained.
Human Rights Watch documented the same patterns of use of excessive force by Yemeni security forces against southern protesters in its 2009 report “In the Name of Unity.”
“The recent killings and injuries are the latest chapter in President Saleh’s brutal attempts to stifle legitimate dissent in Aden and surrounding areas,” Stork said. “Instead of forging unity, these unlawful attacks risk driving a further wedge between the government and the people of the South.”
HRW also claimed to have “credible allegations that thousands of peaceful protesters faced live fire by Yemen's military outside Harf Sufyan and that two unarmed civilians paid with their lives.”
“Simply dismissing these reports as Huthi rebel propaganda is not good enough, and authorities should immediately investigate what happened there on March 4,” said HRW’s Stork.
The Yemeni authorities should immediately investigate the apparent killing of two protesters by soldiers during a peaceful protest on March 4, 2011, near the town of Harf Sufyan, HRW said.
Three protesters told HRW that soldiers at a military post shot and killed the men as thousands of anti-government protesters marched toward the
town.
Yemen's Defense Ministry claimed that no march took place and that rebels from northern Yemen known as Huthis attacked the military post and wounded four soldiers.
Over the past seven years, the Huthis - a Zaidi Shia revivalist
movement - have battled the military. The Huthis have strong support among the population in the town of Harf Sufyan and the surrounding district of the same name.
“The world is watching largely peaceful protests in Sana'a, but Yemeni officials are at best standing by or at worst helping gangs assault demonstrators in places far from the public eye,” said HRW’s Stork.
“Governments in the region and beyond claiming to support democratic reform and accountability should urge President Saleh to halt these thuggish attacks now,” Stock said.
On February 23 Saleh promised that security forces would allow peaceful demonstrations and thwart any attacks on protestors. Since then, protests in the capital have been largely peaceful and generally open to journalists.
“Two days after Saleh’s promise, there is more bloodshed,” said Stork. “Other countries, including The United States, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, need to press Yemen to stop these senseless and illegal attacks,” he added.
In Washington, Obama administration officials, faced with an abundance of worries about the stability and future of U.S. relations with the nations of the Middle East, are most worried about the fate of President Saleh, because his support has been critical in U.S. efforts to combat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. That fight has taken on new urgency as Yemen has been revealed as an al Qaeda base for attacks on the U.S.
Yemen reportedly trained and equipped the so-called “underwear bomber” – a Nigerian who hid explosives in his underwear and attempted to ignite them while a passenger on a U.S. airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. In another attempt, it is believed that Yemen was the source of explosives in courier packages bound for Jewish centers in the U.S.
In addition, the American-born firebrand imam, Anwar al-Awlaki, is believed to be hiding somewhere in Yemen while he recruits volunteers for al Qaeda.
The Obama administration’s response to the pro-democracy movement in Yemen has been to urge Saleh to make democratic changes. Saleh has said recently that he would not run for reelection in 2013. A former military officer, he has served as president since 1990. He has promised not to run for reelection in the past.
But many international observers doubt Saleh’s sincerity regarding reforms. Just last week he pledged to devolve power and urged the opposition to support the plan. His offer of an “open and transparent process that addresses the legitimate concerns of the Yemeni people” was seen as a major concession.
But the opposition viewed Saleh’s pledge to devolve power to parliament as too late, and rejected it.
Yemen is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the Arab World, with a formal 65% employment rate, dwindling natural resources, a young population and increasing population growth. Yemen has very small oil reserves. Its economy depends heavily on the oil it produces, and its government receives the vast majority of its revenue from oil taxes. But Yemen's oil reserves are expected to be depleted by 2017, possibly bringing on economic collapse.
Rampant corruption is a prime obstacle to development in the country, limiting local reinvestments and driving away regional and international capital. The government has recently taken some measures to stamp out corruption, but efforts have been only partly successful. Foreign investments remain largely concentrated around the nation's hydrocarbon industry.
Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance. For example, China is involved with the expansion of the Sana'a International Airport. In the south, pre-independence economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade, which the port relied upon, collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain's withdrawal from Aden in 1967.
Steve Clemons, editor of The Washington Note, says, “Despite the Obama administration's strange non-denial denial regarding military activities inside Yemen in which passions are running strongly inside Yemen against the US, the US is working with the Yemeni government in trying to identify and attack al Qaeda operations. Some are arguing that a quid pro quo is developing in which the administration is now engaged in a covert war against Houthi rebels, which the US has refused to identify as a terrorist group, in partial exchange for more kinetic action from the Yemen government against al Qaeda operations.”
Clemons adds, “The Obama administration has to step back at some point and ask itself what the dangers and downsides are of an ever-widening military span of operations. Some neocons in addition to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are now pointing to Yemen as ‘threat next’ and agitating for a much more aggressive American presence there.
Lieberman and others of like mind have not yet explained what a more aggressive U.S. presence in Yemen would look like and how it would square with the current wave of enthusiasm for representative governments and more self-determination throughout the MENA region.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
ElBaradei Breaks His "Silence" ; Will Seek Egyptian Presidency
By William Fisher
The former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, will be a candidate for president of Egypt, provided that a viable democratic system in is place.
The Egyptian-born international diplomat made his declaration during a televised interview. He characterized as “superficial” the new constitutional amendments prepared by the committee appointed by the army and later presented to leaders of the uprising. Others in the so-called Tahrir Square group have also expressed serious misgivings about the robustness of the amendments.
ElBaradei has met some grassroots criticism for not being present in Egypt during the entire period of the uprising. He was in Cairo long before the pro-democracy movement began to flower and has returned several times during the upheavals. It is reported that some leaders of the pro-democracy forces are not convinced that he understands their vision of a new Egypt.
But he is arguably the most attractive of the would-be candidates, some observers say, because is known to and respected by the international community. Other candidates mentioned include Ayman Noor, who opposed Mubarak in the 2005 election and was then imprisoned; and Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League. But Moussa is seen by some as having for too long done the bidding of the very governments the pro-democracy movement would dump.
ElBaradei urged Egypt's military rulers to discard the amendments or delay a scheduled March 19 popular referendum on them to allow time for a completely new constitution to be drawn up.
ElBaradei objection to the amendments is that they do not adequately limit the powers of the president or give enough time for political parties to form.
Without he formation of political parties, a try multiparty election is not possible. Moreover, the advantage in such an election would go to the best organized of the current parties, The Muslim Brotherhood and what is left of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP).
He added, "The current constitution fell. It would be an insult to the revolution if we decided to retrieve this constitution. I call for a new constitution, a presidential vote and then parliamentary vote."
ElBaradei’s comments on the constitution are emblematic of what the Arab Reform Bulletin of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is calling “a sharp divide” that has emerged among legal experts and opposition groups as to whether the proposed amendments to the constitution will be enough to allow elections to take place.
The Bulletin says, “One side argues that the amendments must be implemented so that elections can be held on schedule, while the other insists that a new constitution must be drafted and elections postponed. Opponents to the amendments argue that there is an absence of basic security and order in Egypt (as is demonstrated by the continued presence of thugs attacking protesters and sectarian strife causing injuries and deaths), and therefore elections cannot be held. Others have called for postponing the referendum in order to foster national dialogue on the matter.”
It adds, “Some are worried that if the amendments fail to be ratified, it will send a signal that the population prefers the current constitution. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has created a committee to monitor opposition to the amendments.
The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs suggested developing a new constitution within 30 days by creating an assembly of 50 to 100 constitutional law scholars and leaders of political parties. Egypt's first female judge, Tahani al-Gebali, has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the amendments.
Other commentators are taking a similar line. Hossam Issa, a law professor, said, "If the amendments are passed, the situation will become very sad because we will be reproducing Mubarak's regime. We want a new Constitution. These partial amendments are being introduced to a Constitution that has already become nil. The Constitution fell the same day power was handed over to the armed forces."
Said Yasser Al Qadi, Chairman of the Information and Technology Industry Development Agency, says, "The main objective is to increase the base of participation in a fair and transparent, effective democracy, and the final outcome of the dialogue will be access to more tools and applications, safer and more accurate technology, the option of electronic voting, and a study on how to provide Egyptians with the ability to vote"
And Cairene Mohamad Z. Gomaa, a respected international consultant, feels that, “People are looking to a whole new constitution that expresses their aspirations, while the Army only asked for changes of some articles. This is a main and significant difference, of course. People are afraid that restriction to few changes may make old constitution continue, at the end of the day.”
Gomaa told The Public Record, “I was tending to agree with the constitutional changes. However, after a more deep analysis them of these proposed changes and their consequences, in the light of the new strong requests and army preliminary agreement trends of changing the order of the process, to start with the election of the president then the parliament, I decided to say no on March 19th, refusing the constitutional changes.”
He explained: “This change was mainly due to the exceptional excessive presidential power through the articles still left in the constitution. With such powers, the new elected president may rule at least one year and a half until a new constitution is agreed upon and that depends on whether the elected president considers that necessary. Imagine how such extra power can spoil even any moral angle transferring him to a pharaoh. The fears are real with one of the constitutional changes saying that the president has the right to ask for changing one or more of the constitution’s articles (the new one, in this case!). It is definitely unsafe way to go ahead and defies the true meaning of democracy. There are large arguments and requests against the changes and the 19th referendum that may change the situation, I hope.“
ElBaradei also said he would work to improve relations between Egypt and Iran.
According to the Arab Reform Bulletin, he stressed that his first focus as president would be to reform the education system, involving as many experts as possible. On the issue of Israel, ElBaradei said that the current peace process is a farce, but that a Palestinian state cannot be created through war.
In other developments, Coptic sit-ins have continued following outbreaks of sectarian violence. For the sixth day, Coptic Christians have protested against the burning of a Helwan church and the ensuing sectarian violence that occurred. The protesters insist on continuing their protests until all their demands are met. These include the arrest of those behind the torching of the church, the immediate construction of a new church in the same site, and dismissing the governor of Helwan who the protesters see as responsible for the incident.
Many Muslims have joined the sit-in in Cairo to show solidarity with the Coptic demands, and a large demonstration is being organized tomorrow for the same purpose. The Coptic Church is also expected to send a group of representatives to the sit-in to convince the protesters to give the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces a chance to contain the situation. Thousands of Copts attended the funeral in Cairo for the victims of the sectarian violence.
Sectarian violence has been condemned by Dr. Mohammed Badie, the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has called on all Egyptians to safeguard state institutions, adhere to the law and present demands in a peaceful manner. The statement accused the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the state security apparatus of igniting the clashes in order to foster chaos and instability in a delicate environment.
The new Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, has begun to expedite deployment of uniformed police to return to Cairo streets for the first time since police withdrew from the streets on January 28th.
Uniformed police officers have returned to Tahrir Square in an attempt to restore order to a largely unstable Egypt. The military has maintained a presence in the square, and has broken up the long-term sit-in in the square, however military statements have called for the return of civilian law enforcement to replace the military security forces.
Sharaf accelerated the return of police officers to all posts, and hopes that they will be able to fully carry out their duties without incident. A demonstration was planned for Friday in Tahrir Square to call for national unity in the wake of sectarian violence and to demand state security be abolished.
The former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, will be a candidate for president of Egypt, provided that a viable democratic system in is place.
The Egyptian-born international diplomat made his declaration during a televised interview. He characterized as “superficial” the new constitutional amendments prepared by the committee appointed by the army and later presented to leaders of the uprising. Others in the so-called Tahrir Square group have also expressed serious misgivings about the robustness of the amendments.
ElBaradei has met some grassroots criticism for not being present in Egypt during the entire period of the uprising. He was in Cairo long before the pro-democracy movement began to flower and has returned several times during the upheavals. It is reported that some leaders of the pro-democracy forces are not convinced that he understands their vision of a new Egypt.
But he is arguably the most attractive of the would-be candidates, some observers say, because is known to and respected by the international community. Other candidates mentioned include Ayman Noor, who opposed Mubarak in the 2005 election and was then imprisoned; and Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League. But Moussa is seen by some as having for too long done the bidding of the very governments the pro-democracy movement would dump.
ElBaradei urged Egypt's military rulers to discard the amendments or delay a scheduled March 19 popular referendum on them to allow time for a completely new constitution to be drawn up.
ElBaradei objection to the amendments is that they do not adequately limit the powers of the president or give enough time for political parties to form.
Without he formation of political parties, a try multiparty election is not possible. Moreover, the advantage in such an election would go to the best organized of the current parties, The Muslim Brotherhood and what is left of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP).
He added, "The current constitution fell. It would be an insult to the revolution if we decided to retrieve this constitution. I call for a new constitution, a presidential vote and then parliamentary vote."
ElBaradei’s comments on the constitution are emblematic of what the Arab Reform Bulletin of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is calling “a sharp divide” that has emerged among legal experts and opposition groups as to whether the proposed amendments to the constitution will be enough to allow elections to take place.
The Bulletin says, “One side argues that the amendments must be implemented so that elections can be held on schedule, while the other insists that a new constitution must be drafted and elections postponed. Opponents to the amendments argue that there is an absence of basic security and order in Egypt (as is demonstrated by the continued presence of thugs attacking protesters and sectarian strife causing injuries and deaths), and therefore elections cannot be held. Others have called for postponing the referendum in order to foster national dialogue on the matter.”
It adds, “Some are worried that if the amendments fail to be ratified, it will send a signal that the population prefers the current constitution. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has created a committee to monitor opposition to the amendments.
The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs suggested developing a new constitution within 30 days by creating an assembly of 50 to 100 constitutional law scholars and leaders of political parties. Egypt's first female judge, Tahani al-Gebali, has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the amendments.
Other commentators are taking a similar line. Hossam Issa, a law professor, said, "If the amendments are passed, the situation will become very sad because we will be reproducing Mubarak's regime. We want a new Constitution. These partial amendments are being introduced to a Constitution that has already become nil. The Constitution fell the same day power was handed over to the armed forces."
Said Yasser Al Qadi, Chairman of the Information and Technology Industry Development Agency, says, "The main objective is to increase the base of participation in a fair and transparent, effective democracy, and the final outcome of the dialogue will be access to more tools and applications, safer and more accurate technology, the option of electronic voting, and a study on how to provide Egyptians with the ability to vote"
And Cairene Mohamad Z. Gomaa, a respected international consultant, feels that, “People are looking to a whole new constitution that expresses their aspirations, while the Army only asked for changes of some articles. This is a main and significant difference, of course. People are afraid that restriction to few changes may make old constitution continue, at the end of the day.”
Gomaa told The Public Record, “I was tending to agree with the constitutional changes. However, after a more deep analysis them of these proposed changes and their consequences, in the light of the new strong requests and army preliminary agreement trends of changing the order of the process, to start with the election of the president then the parliament, I decided to say no on March 19th, refusing the constitutional changes.”
He explained: “This change was mainly due to the exceptional excessive presidential power through the articles still left in the constitution. With such powers, the new elected president may rule at least one year and a half until a new constitution is agreed upon and that depends on whether the elected president considers that necessary. Imagine how such extra power can spoil even any moral angle transferring him to a pharaoh. The fears are real with one of the constitutional changes saying that the president has the right to ask for changing one or more of the constitution’s articles (the new one, in this case!). It is definitely unsafe way to go ahead and defies the true meaning of democracy. There are large arguments and requests against the changes and the 19th referendum that may change the situation, I hope.“
ElBaradei also said he would work to improve relations between Egypt and Iran.
According to the Arab Reform Bulletin, he stressed that his first focus as president would be to reform the education system, involving as many experts as possible. On the issue of Israel, ElBaradei said that the current peace process is a farce, but that a Palestinian state cannot be created through war.
In other developments, Coptic sit-ins have continued following outbreaks of sectarian violence. For the sixth day, Coptic Christians have protested against the burning of a Helwan church and the ensuing sectarian violence that occurred. The protesters insist on continuing their protests until all their demands are met. These include the arrest of those behind the torching of the church, the immediate construction of a new church in the same site, and dismissing the governor of Helwan who the protesters see as responsible for the incident.
Many Muslims have joined the sit-in in Cairo to show solidarity with the Coptic demands, and a large demonstration is being organized tomorrow for the same purpose. The Coptic Church is also expected to send a group of representatives to the sit-in to convince the protesters to give the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces a chance to contain the situation. Thousands of Copts attended the funeral in Cairo for the victims of the sectarian violence.
Sectarian violence has been condemned by Dr. Mohammed Badie, the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has called on all Egyptians to safeguard state institutions, adhere to the law and present demands in a peaceful manner. The statement accused the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the state security apparatus of igniting the clashes in order to foster chaos and instability in a delicate environment.
The new Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, has begun to expedite deployment of uniformed police to return to Cairo streets for the first time since police withdrew from the streets on January 28th.
Uniformed police officers have returned to Tahrir Square in an attempt to restore order to a largely unstable Egypt. The military has maintained a presence in the square, and has broken up the long-term sit-in in the square, however military statements have called for the return of civilian law enforcement to replace the military security forces.
Sharaf accelerated the return of police officers to all posts, and hopes that they will be able to fully carry out their duties without incident. A demonstration was planned for Friday in Tahrir Square to call for national unity in the wake of sectarian violence and to demand state security be abolished.
Saudi Arabia Puts Down Demos
By William Fisher
Resisting pressure from human rights advocates, the Government of Saudi Arabia readied itself to apply maximum force to quell pro-democracy demonstrations.
Reports are that Saudi authorities conscripted some 10,000 police to be ready to apply whatever force is necessary should the previously announced “Day of Rage” actually materialize following Friday prayers.
But it appears that if there were any major demonstrations in Saudi Arabia today, they remain among the Kingdom’s best-kept secrets.
It is now well past prayer time on Friday afternoon in Saudi Arabia. As we write this, there have been no reports of demonstrations in any of the Kingdom’s major cities. But Saudi activists are reported to have set up online groups calling for protests in Riyadh today, Saturday.
In Qatif, a small city in the Eastern part of the country – near Shia-dominated Bahrain – AlJazeera television showed a group of protesters attempting to gather on a street, only to come under fire from police. It was unclear whether the police were aiming at the demonstrators or firing into the air, and whether they were using live ammunition or rubber bullets. Witnesses said three protesters and one police officer were wounded. The eastern part of Saudi Arabia is home to a large number of Shia.
Hundreds of police were visible on the streets of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, today. They closed roads to motor traffic and established checkpoints. As people gathered for Friday prayers, police searched people and cars. Witnesses said a helicopter flew over the city as groups of policemen manned street corners and intersections.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, and many other international rights groups have called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to reverse the ban on peaceful protest in the Kingdom, amid fears of a violent crackdown on mass demonstrations.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has said that dialogue -- not protests -- is the way to bring reform and warned that the oil-rich nation will take strong action if activists take to the streets.
Inspired by a wave of uprisings in the Arab world, activists from Saudi Arabia's Shiite Muslim minority have called for a "Day of Rage" on Friday to demand the regime's removal. The government accuses Shiites from outside the country of spurring the protests.
"The kingdom does not interfere in the affairs of others and will not allow for anyone to interfere in its own affairs," Prince Saud al-Faisal said today at a press conference in Saudi Arabia's port of Jeddah. Using a figure of speech, he said his regime would "cut off any finger" raised against the regime.
"Reform cannot be achieved through protests ... The best way to achieve demands is through national dialogue," he said. The protest ban, confirmed on Saturday, was backed by religious and security bodies.
"Instead of banning peaceful protests the Saudi Arabian authorities should
address the need for major human rights reform in the country," said Philip
Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program.
“They must heed the growing calls for change within Saudi Arabia”.
Saudi Arabia's "Day of Rage" was organized online using Facebook. One page has over 33,000 followers.
The ban was also backed by the president of the Mutawa'een (religious police), the Council of Senior Ulema (religious clerics) and the Shura Council (a consultative body appointed by the King).
“Reports that the Saudi authorities plan to deploy troops to police upcoming
demonstrations are very worrying,” said Philip Luther. “Rather than seeking to intimidate would-be demonstrators from coming out on the streets, the authorities should rein in the security forces and allow peaceful protests to take place.”
The Ministry of Interior was reported to have said in 2008 that protests in
Saudi Arabia were banned, after a demonstration against Israel's military action in Gaza.
Although Amnesty International is not aware of any legal text banning
demonstrations, in practice the Saudi Arabian authorities have not allowed them to take place.
Amnesty International has also called on the authorities to release or charge a man detained on Friday 4 March during a protest in the capital Riyadh.
Muhammad al-Wad'ani has been detained incommunicado since his arrest and is believed to be at risk of torture.
A video posted on YouTube two days before the demonstration showed Muhammad al-Wad'ani calling for the fall of the monarchy and for people to join the protest.
Around 24 people were detained on 3 and 4 March following protests in the city of al-Qatif, denouncing the prolonged detention without trial of Shi'a prisoners. They were released on 8 March without charge reportedly only after they signed a pledge not to protest again.
Torture and other ill-treatment is frequently used to extract confessions from
detainees, to punish them for refusing to “repent” or to force them not to
criticize the government. Incommunicado detention in Saudi Arabia often lasts until a confession is obtained, which can take months and occasionally years.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the country’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday that "reform cannot be achieved through protests", while the protest ban, confirmed on Saturday, was backed by religious and security bodies.
The ban was also backed by the president of the Mutawa'een (religious police), the Council of Senior Ulema (religious clerics) and the Shura Council (a consultative body appointed by the King).
“Reports that the Saudi authorities plan to deploy troops to police upcoming
demonstrations are very worrying,” said Philip Luther. “Rather than seeking to intimidate would-be demonstrators from coming out on the streets, the
authorities should rein in the security forces and allow peaceful protests to
take place.”
Amnesty International also called on Saudi authorities to release or charge a man detained on Friday March 4 during a protest in the capital Riyadh.
Muhammad al-Wad'ani has been detained incommunicado since his arrest and is believed to be at risk of torture. A video posted on YouTube two days before the demonstration showed Muhammad al-Wad'ani calling for the fall of the monarchy and for people to join the protest.
Around 24 people were detained on 3 and 4 March following protests in the city of al-Qatif, denouncing the prolonged detention without trial of Shi'a prisoners. They were released on 8 March without charge reportedly only after they signed a pledge not to protest again.
The Ministry of Interior was reported to have said in 2008 that protests in
Saudi Arabia were banned, after a demonstration against Israel's military action in Gaza.
Although Amnesty International is not aware of any legal text banning
demonstrations, in practice the Saudi Arabian authorities have not allowed them to take place.
Torture and other ill-treatment is frequently used to extract confessions from
detainees, to punish them for refusing to “repent” or to force them not to
criticize the government.
Incommunicado detention in Saudi Arabia often lasts until a confession is
obtained, which can take months and occasionally years.
Human Rights Watch called on Saudi authorities to immediately release another demonstrator, a Shia cleric apparently arrested on February 27, 2011, for calling for a constitutional monarchy and equal rights for Shia.
The domestic intelligence agency, the General Directorate for Investigations, summoned Shaikh Tawfiq al-‘Amir to Hofuf in the al-Ahsa district of the Eastern Province and then arrested him, according to family members. No official reason was given for his arrest.
"The Saudi government should listen to the demands of its citizens, not seek to stifle them," said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Calling for equal rights for an oppressed religious minority should not be a reason for harassment and arrest."
The arrest comes amid mounting pressure for political reform in Saudi Arabia as pro-democracy demonstrations sweep through the Middle East. A total of close to 2,000 Saudis have put their names to three separate petitions calling for a constitutional monarchy. The government so far has not arrested any of those who signed the petitions, which were made public last week.
However, the authorities have reportedly blocked access within the kingdom to the website http://www.dawlaty.com/ ("My Nation"), where one of the petitions appeared.
On February 16 the authorities arrested a group of people who had announced their intention to found the country's first political party, the Islamic Nation Party (Hizb al-Umma al-Islami).
One petition, the so-called "youth" petition, signed by more than 40 people and initiated by young journalists, was made public on the day of King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz's return to Saudi Arabia on February 23, following a three-month absence for medical treatment. The petition called for an elected parliament, a separation of powers, a review of the Basic Law, and a basic administrative law, among other demands.
A second petition, "Toward a State of Rights and Institutions, " calls for an elected parliament with full legislative powers, a separation of the offices of king and prime minister, and the release of political prisoners, among other demands. Over 1,550 people have signed it, including some high-profile Islamist clerics who had vehemently opposed King Abdullah's promotion of women in the public sphere.
The third and latest petition, released on February 26 under the title, "National Declaration for Reform," was signed by more than 330 people, including leading liberal reformers, and includes the most detailed reform program. It calls for elections to decision-making bodies on the local, provincial, and national levels, as well as a review of the Basic Law to include rights protections, true separation of powers, and the release of political prisoners, among other demands.
Various Internet sites have called for a Saudi "Day of Rage" on March 11 and March 20, with nationwide demonstrations. Public protests are banned by the authorities in Saudi Arabia. Publicly identifying with demands for political reform remains risky in Saudi Arabia and can lead to harassment or detention.
On February 25 there were peaceful marches in the Shia towns of Safwa and Qatif in the Eastern Province. Residents of al-‘Awwamiyya, an adjacent small Shia town, held a silent vigil the same day calling for the release of the so-called "Forgotten Prisoners," nine Shia Saudis detained without charge or trial for over 12 years over unproven allegations of their involvement in the 1996 attacks on US military targets in Khobar that killed 19 Americans.
"The Saudi government risks being overtaken by history," Wilcke said. "Throughout the region citizens are demanding their rights. Persisting with outdated authoritarian ways is a recipe for
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (Cairo) - Saudi Arabia should rescind its categorical ban on peaceful demonstrations and release the more than 20 protesters detained on March 3, 2011, in the eastern town of Qatif, Human Rights Watch said today.
Saudi Arabia is one of only two countries in the Middle East and North Africa that ban protests as a matter of principle; Oman is the other. Saudi Arabia is not party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protect the right to peaceful assembly, but in 2009 the country acceded to the Arab Charter for Human Rights, which also guarantees this right.
"By banning all protests Saudi rulers are telling their countrymen and women that for all political purposes they are not citizens and have no right to participate in public affairs," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Saudis have had enough of unaccountable rulers telling them to do as they are told and shut up."
According to Amnesty International, “In the five years since he ascended the Saudi throne, King Abdullah has loosened the reins stifling Saudi society. But his reforms have been largely symbolic, with few lasting institutional changes.”
The group says that, under King Abdullah, Saudis have become freer to criticize the government or societal norms, but those who cross lines such as questioning the role of religion or singling out princes for criticism face harassment or jail.
It adds that women have become more visible in public and in the workplace. But even an adult woman still requires her male guardian’s written consent to make decisions about marriage, work, education, health care, and travel. Abdullah allowed women to stay in hotels without male guardians, but has left the guardian system as a whole intact.
Although the king initiated an Interfaith Dialogue Initiative in Madrid and New York, the Saudi minority Shia remains as badly treated as ever. While Abdullah shakes hands with rabbis abroad, Shia at home are arrested simply for praying together, Amnesty says.
Resisting pressure from human rights advocates, the Government of Saudi Arabia readied itself to apply maximum force to quell pro-democracy demonstrations.
Reports are that Saudi authorities conscripted some 10,000 police to be ready to apply whatever force is necessary should the previously announced “Day of Rage” actually materialize following Friday prayers.
But it appears that if there were any major demonstrations in Saudi Arabia today, they remain among the Kingdom’s best-kept secrets.
It is now well past prayer time on Friday afternoon in Saudi Arabia. As we write this, there have been no reports of demonstrations in any of the Kingdom’s major cities. But Saudi activists are reported to have set up online groups calling for protests in Riyadh today, Saturday.
In Qatif, a small city in the Eastern part of the country – near Shia-dominated Bahrain – AlJazeera television showed a group of protesters attempting to gather on a street, only to come under fire from police. It was unclear whether the police were aiming at the demonstrators or firing into the air, and whether they were using live ammunition or rubber bullets. Witnesses said three protesters and one police officer were wounded. The eastern part of Saudi Arabia is home to a large number of Shia.
Hundreds of police were visible on the streets of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, today. They closed roads to motor traffic and established checkpoints. As people gathered for Friday prayers, police searched people and cars. Witnesses said a helicopter flew over the city as groups of policemen manned street corners and intersections.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, and many other international rights groups have called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to reverse the ban on peaceful protest in the Kingdom, amid fears of a violent crackdown on mass demonstrations.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has said that dialogue -- not protests -- is the way to bring reform and warned that the oil-rich nation will take strong action if activists take to the streets.
Inspired by a wave of uprisings in the Arab world, activists from Saudi Arabia's Shiite Muslim minority have called for a "Day of Rage" on Friday to demand the regime's removal. The government accuses Shiites from outside the country of spurring the protests.
"The kingdom does not interfere in the affairs of others and will not allow for anyone to interfere in its own affairs," Prince Saud al-Faisal said today at a press conference in Saudi Arabia's port of Jeddah. Using a figure of speech, he said his regime would "cut off any finger" raised against the regime.
"Reform cannot be achieved through protests ... The best way to achieve demands is through national dialogue," he said. The protest ban, confirmed on Saturday, was backed by religious and security bodies.
"Instead of banning peaceful protests the Saudi Arabian authorities should
address the need for major human rights reform in the country," said Philip
Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program.
“They must heed the growing calls for change within Saudi Arabia”.
Saudi Arabia's "Day of Rage" was organized online using Facebook. One page has over 33,000 followers.
The ban was also backed by the president of the Mutawa'een (religious police), the Council of Senior Ulema (religious clerics) and the Shura Council (a consultative body appointed by the King).
“Reports that the Saudi authorities plan to deploy troops to police upcoming
demonstrations are very worrying,” said Philip Luther. “Rather than seeking to intimidate would-be demonstrators from coming out on the streets, the authorities should rein in the security forces and allow peaceful protests to take place.”
The Ministry of Interior was reported to have said in 2008 that protests in
Saudi Arabia were banned, after a demonstration against Israel's military action in Gaza.
Although Amnesty International is not aware of any legal text banning
demonstrations, in practice the Saudi Arabian authorities have not allowed them to take place.
Amnesty International has also called on the authorities to release or charge a man detained on Friday 4 March during a protest in the capital Riyadh.
Muhammad al-Wad'ani has been detained incommunicado since his arrest and is believed to be at risk of torture.
A video posted on YouTube two days before the demonstration showed Muhammad al-Wad'ani calling for the fall of the monarchy and for people to join the protest.
Around 24 people were detained on 3 and 4 March following protests in the city of al-Qatif, denouncing the prolonged detention without trial of Shi'a prisoners. They were released on 8 March without charge reportedly only after they signed a pledge not to protest again.
Torture and other ill-treatment is frequently used to extract confessions from
detainees, to punish them for refusing to “repent” or to force them not to
criticize the government. Incommunicado detention in Saudi Arabia often lasts until a confession is obtained, which can take months and occasionally years.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the country’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday that "reform cannot be achieved through protests", while the protest ban, confirmed on Saturday, was backed by religious and security bodies.
The ban was also backed by the president of the Mutawa'een (religious police), the Council of Senior Ulema (religious clerics) and the Shura Council (a consultative body appointed by the King).
“Reports that the Saudi authorities plan to deploy troops to police upcoming
demonstrations are very worrying,” said Philip Luther. “Rather than seeking to intimidate would-be demonstrators from coming out on the streets, the
authorities should rein in the security forces and allow peaceful protests to
take place.”
Amnesty International also called on Saudi authorities to release or charge a man detained on Friday March 4 during a protest in the capital Riyadh.
Muhammad al-Wad'ani has been detained incommunicado since his arrest and is believed to be at risk of torture. A video posted on YouTube two days before the demonstration showed Muhammad al-Wad'ani calling for the fall of the monarchy and for people to join the protest.
Around 24 people were detained on 3 and 4 March following protests in the city of al-Qatif, denouncing the prolonged detention without trial of Shi'a prisoners. They were released on 8 March without charge reportedly only after they signed a pledge not to protest again.
The Ministry of Interior was reported to have said in 2008 that protests in
Saudi Arabia were banned, after a demonstration against Israel's military action in Gaza.
Although Amnesty International is not aware of any legal text banning
demonstrations, in practice the Saudi Arabian authorities have not allowed them to take place.
Torture and other ill-treatment is frequently used to extract confessions from
detainees, to punish them for refusing to “repent” or to force them not to
criticize the government.
Incommunicado detention in Saudi Arabia often lasts until a confession is
obtained, which can take months and occasionally years.
Human Rights Watch called on Saudi authorities to immediately release another demonstrator, a Shia cleric apparently arrested on February 27, 2011, for calling for a constitutional monarchy and equal rights for Shia.
The domestic intelligence agency, the General Directorate for Investigations, summoned Shaikh Tawfiq al-‘Amir to Hofuf in the al-Ahsa district of the Eastern Province and then arrested him, according to family members. No official reason was given for his arrest.
"The Saudi government should listen to the demands of its citizens, not seek to stifle them," said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Calling for equal rights for an oppressed religious minority should not be a reason for harassment and arrest."
The arrest comes amid mounting pressure for political reform in Saudi Arabia as pro-democracy demonstrations sweep through the Middle East. A total of close to 2,000 Saudis have put their names to three separate petitions calling for a constitutional monarchy. The government so far has not arrested any of those who signed the petitions, which were made public last week.
However, the authorities have reportedly blocked access within the kingdom to the website http://www.dawlaty.com/ ("My Nation"), where one of the petitions appeared.
On February 16 the authorities arrested a group of people who had announced their intention to found the country's first political party, the Islamic Nation Party (Hizb al-Umma al-Islami).
One petition, the so-called "youth" petition, signed by more than 40 people and initiated by young journalists, was made public on the day of King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz's return to Saudi Arabia on February 23, following a three-month absence for medical treatment. The petition called for an elected parliament, a separation of powers, a review of the Basic Law, and a basic administrative law, among other demands.
A second petition, "Toward a State of Rights and Institutions, " calls for an elected parliament with full legislative powers, a separation of the offices of king and prime minister, and the release of political prisoners, among other demands. Over 1,550 people have signed it, including some high-profile Islamist clerics who had vehemently opposed King Abdullah's promotion of women in the public sphere.
The third and latest petition, released on February 26 under the title, "National Declaration for Reform," was signed by more than 330 people, including leading liberal reformers, and includes the most detailed reform program. It calls for elections to decision-making bodies on the local, provincial, and national levels, as well as a review of the Basic Law to include rights protections, true separation of powers, and the release of political prisoners, among other demands.
Various Internet sites have called for a Saudi "Day of Rage" on March 11 and March 20, with nationwide demonstrations. Public protests are banned by the authorities in Saudi Arabia. Publicly identifying with demands for political reform remains risky in Saudi Arabia and can lead to harassment or detention.
On February 25 there were peaceful marches in the Shia towns of Safwa and Qatif in the Eastern Province. Residents of al-‘Awwamiyya, an adjacent small Shia town, held a silent vigil the same day calling for the release of the so-called "Forgotten Prisoners," nine Shia Saudis detained without charge or trial for over 12 years over unproven allegations of their involvement in the 1996 attacks on US military targets in Khobar that killed 19 Americans.
"The Saudi government risks being overtaken by history," Wilcke said. "Throughout the region citizens are demanding their rights. Persisting with outdated authoritarian ways is a recipe for
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (Cairo) - Saudi Arabia should rescind its categorical ban on peaceful demonstrations and release the more than 20 protesters detained on March 3, 2011, in the eastern town of Qatif, Human Rights Watch said today.
Saudi Arabia is one of only two countries in the Middle East and North Africa that ban protests as a matter of principle; Oman is the other. Saudi Arabia is not party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protect the right to peaceful assembly, but in 2009 the country acceded to the Arab Charter for Human Rights, which also guarantees this right.
"By banning all protests Saudi rulers are telling their countrymen and women that for all political purposes they are not citizens and have no right to participate in public affairs," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Saudis have had enough of unaccountable rulers telling them to do as they are told and shut up."
According to Amnesty International, “In the five years since he ascended the Saudi throne, King Abdullah has loosened the reins stifling Saudi society. But his reforms have been largely symbolic, with few lasting institutional changes.”
The group says that, under King Abdullah, Saudis have become freer to criticize the government or societal norms, but those who cross lines such as questioning the role of religion or singling out princes for criticism face harassment or jail.
It adds that women have become more visible in public and in the workplace. But even an adult woman still requires her male guardian’s written consent to make decisions about marriage, work, education, health care, and travel. Abdullah allowed women to stay in hotels without male guardians, but has left the guardian system as a whole intact.
Although the king initiated an Interfaith Dialogue Initiative in Madrid and New York, the Saudi minority Shia remains as badly treated as ever. While Abdullah shakes hands with rabbis abroad, Shia at home are arrested simply for praying together, Amnesty says.
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