“Thieves, thieves, where is the 200bn... ”

Demonstrators staged a rare rally after Friday prayers in Riyadh, marking the first such protest in the Saudi capital, as the kingdom braced itself for an Egypt-inspired “Friday of Rage” next week. Meanwhile, small protests continued in the oil-rich Eastern Province towns of al-Ahsa and Qateef, with demonstrators demanding the release of political prisoners. Some protesters chanted “thieves, thieves, where is the 200bn” God is great”.....

 

In Saudi Arabia protests and public displays of dissent are outlawed. The government has become increasingly nervous about the protests that have taken the Arab world by storm, toppling the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents, and which recently reached Oman and Bahrain. Saudi reformists had hoped that after King Abdullah returned from a three-month medical trip to the US and Morocco, he would announce reforms. Instead, he announced an estimated SR135bn ($36bn) in financial and unemployment benefit measures. Waleed Sulais, a Shia activist, said: “The government is very tense right now. The authorities do not like mosques or Friday sermons being used to discuss politics, they warned against it. But the numbers are increasing every day as people become bolder. There has to be serious steps [towards reform] or anger will explode.”..."