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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (44862)	10/22/2003 7:17:11 PM
From: NickSE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Challenge to Saudi leaders with call for more protests by Roula Khalaf in Riyadh - October 21 2003 news.ft.com A week after a rare protest backed by Saudi dissidents was put down by police in Riyadh, the London-based Islamist opposition group is promising a new challenge by calling on supporters to take to the streets on Thursday in large numbers and in several cities. The demonstrations, designed to call for reforms and the release of prisoners, will be seen as a test of the influence of Islah, the group that surprised many Saudis last week with its ability to mobilise support. Many had not expected the demonstration to take place at all so the attempt to gather became the talk of Riyadh. Though numbers of protesters were difficult to gauge, that some responded to the call reflected a willingness to take bold action in a country where protests are banned - and virtually non-existent - but anger and resentment have been mounting. The Saudi regime sought to play down the scale of the protest and said it had arrested at least 150 people. The country's highest religious authority declared the protesters a "deviant" and marginal group. Yet several political analysts said the crackdown on demonstrators had boosted interest in Islah, which spreads a non-violent message through a radio show captured on satellite television. Callers to the station sometimes give their names their addresses, challenging the authorities to find them. The repression of the protest last week was meant to send a signal that the regime will not tolerate popular expressions of dissent, not least when it is fighting an anti-terror campaign against al-Qaeda cells. Since suspected members of the network in May bombed three residential compounds for expatriates the regime has pursued a harsh crackdown. "They don't think we have people who will demonstrate peacefully and they think that if they open this avenue you never know where it leads," said a member of the country's advisory consultative council. Saudi Arabia has won praise in the west for moving forcefully against al-Qaeda. But a key demand in the demonstration was the release of detainees that are held without trial. Lawyers in Riyadh say the widening crackdown and the lack of fair treatment are deepening anger among Islamist opponents of the regime and threaten to backfire. Analysts said allowing peaceful expression of dissent should be part of the strategy against terrorism. "The government has to get used to this - this is the best way to express yourself rather than resort to violence," said Ali al-Doumaini, a Saudi writer and poet who is active among liberals in the kingdom and disagrees with Islah's Islamist approach. The protest followed another unusual move in the kingdom - last week's announcement of a vote next year to elect half the members of municipal councils. But it also raised questions about how a vote will take place without the ability to organise and mobilise support. "An election has to go hand in hand with giving people the right to speak. Political participation has tools and protests are part of it," said Daoud al-Shiryan, another liberal writer. "The election is going to raise lots of questions, you'll have to have political campaigns."