***Official Arabian Peninsula Protest thread***

I'd like to propose posting all stuff about nations in the Arabian Peninsula in this thread, unless the material is in an article whose coverage area goes beyond the peninsula.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/arab-m02.shtml
Protests Spread Throughout Arabian Peninsula, Alex Lantier. Map of the Peninsula included.

Renewed popular protests hit Yemen, Oman and Bahrain yesterday. In addition to the increasing instability of regimes already facing mass opposition, there are signs that the protests that spread from Tunisia and Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula may also overtake Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
In Yemen, mass protests took place throughout the country against US-backed President Ali Abdullah Saleh, while opposition parties—in an about-face from their position on Sunday—refused to participate in a unity government with Saleh. Protests have shaken the Saleh regime since February 11.
Tens of thousands marched in a “day of rage” protest in the capital, Sanaa, demanding an end to bloodshed against demonstrators and Saleh’s departure from power. According to Xinhua, roughly 5,000 people traveled 60 kilometers from Dhamar province to join the protests in Sanaa......
Demonstrations took place throughout the country, including in Dhamar, Ibb, Taiz, Aden, Abyan, Shabwa, Al-Bayda and Hadramout provinces. The Ibb protest reportedly gathered 10,000 people. Protests in Aden, the port city that has seen 24 of the 27 confirmed deaths at the hands of state forces, reportedly focused on commemorating those who had been killed.
Saleh simultaneously denounced the protests as orchestrated by Israel and the US and attempted to placate protesters’ anger. He ordered an investigation into the killing of demonstrators in Aden. He also sacked five provincial governors amid reports of violence against protesters in their areas. These included Aden Governor Adnan al-Jefri, Hadramout Governor Salim al-Khanbashi, Al-Hodayda Governor Ahmed al-Jabali, Abyan Governor Ahmed al-Maisary, and Lahj Governor Muhsin al-Naqib. They all received other government posts, however.....
Tribal leaders and southern separatists are turning against Saleh. Sheikh Hamid ben Abdallah Al-Ahmar, a leader of both the Hached tribe and the Islah party, reportedly endorsed the call for the removal of Saleh last week, together with leaders of the Baqil tribe.
Yassin Ahmad Saleh Qadih, a leader of the separatist Southern Movement, announced that he would push for a referendum on separation after Saleh falls. Though it has only 5.5 million people, compared to 18 million in the north, the south is wealthier and produces most of the country’s daily oil output of 300,000 barrels. Saleh reportedly has warned that the partition of Yemen would break the country into many pieces.......
In the industrial and port city of Sohar, in northern Oman, the army yesterday again fired on protesters demanding jobs and reform of the absolute monarchy of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Only one person was reported wounded. The reported death toll for Sunday’s protests was increased to six, however.
Troops and armored vehicles occupied the Globe Roundabout in Sohar, which had attracted up to 2,000 people in previous protests. Protesters blockaded the Sohar port, however, and Westerners in the port management briefly left Sohar for the capital of Oman, Muscat. According to the Tehran Times, protesters demanded that “the benefits of our oil wealth” be “distributed evenly.”
Protesters in Muscat gathered around the buildings of the Shura Council, an advisory body that counsels Sultan Qaboos, demanding jobs, higher salaries and freedom of the press.......
Oman is a strategic country located across the Arabian Sea from Iran and astride the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which Persian Gulf oil exports must travel. The US has backed Qaboos. US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, “We have been in touch with the government and encouraged restraint and to resolve differences through dialog.” There are no opposition parties in Oman because political parties are illegal there.
Thousands of protesters again demonstrated in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, against the Al-Khalifa dynasty that has ruled Bahrain for 200 years. The protesters marched from Salmaniah district to Pearl Square, the central square around which anti-government protests have rallied in recent weeks. Demonstrators opposed attempts to divide them along sectarian lines, chanting: “We are brothers, Sunnis and Shiites. The people want the fall of the regime.”....
There are indications that protests may also spread to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, two oppressive pro-US monarchies that are critical to the world oil trade.
In Kuwait, a youth group called the Fifth Fence has announced plans for a March 8 protest outside the country’s parliament. Opposition parties in Kuwait have called for the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the nephew of Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
In Saudi Arabia, Internet activists have set up Facebook pages calling for protests on March 11 and March 20..
Protests could intensify divisions inside the ruling Saudi monarchy. The UPI press agency noted: “The kingdom faces a potentially touchy royal succession, complicated by the advanced age of the country’s top leaders. King Abdallah, Crown Price Sultan, Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Prince Nayef, and Riyadh Governor Prince Salman are all in their 80s.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/food-prices-hit-new-all-time-record-february

In an article focused on global food prices setting a record, the last sentence states

today Bahrain may steal the spotlight, after the opposition not only called for a removal of the government, but has announced a mass protest for Friday.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/04/yemen.protests/index.html

Security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in northern Yemen on Friday morning, killing two people and injuring nine others, witnesses said.
The forces fired into the protesters in Harf Sufyan city to try and disperse them, witnesses said. Three army planes flying over the crowd also attacked the protesters, witnesses said.

[No calls for a "no fly" zone over Yemen from any quarters. The government is still supported by the US government. There were massive demonstrations elsewhere in Yemen today.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/religious-tensions-bahrain-edge
Tyler Durden, 3/4/11. The title is misleading, a key point in the article is the rejection of sectarian appeals.

The little country that everyone forgot about after violent killings two weeks ago are now erased from the collective 15 minute memory, is now back on the map. Religious tensions in Bahrain continue to escalate as can be seen in the following speech by senior Shia cleric Sheik Isa Qassim [quote the contrary!], who essentially confirmed that there will be no dialogue between the protesters and the government: "Dialogue requires the agreement of two opposite sides that have disagreement and are looking to reach an agreement. Therefore we see no value in requiring us to sit with some groups or parliamentarians who are in total agreement with the government. The opposition delegation will not be representing a sect, a political party, an institution, or a group of parliamentarians; rather they will have the confidence of the people who are raising legitimate demands." So much for attempts to resolve things peacefully. Yet what could be the match that sets off the bomb is the announcement by the Bahrain Defense Force that Mohammed al-Buflasa, a Bahraini [a Sunni] who was detained on February 15 after speaking in support of the Pearl Roundabout protesters, will be court-martialed. As the following annotated speech transcript by Qassim, the Shi'a will not stand for it. Will this be another weekend in which Bahrain deals with peaceful protests with live fire at the discontents? If so, it may be the end of the tenuous peace in the Saudi Arabia region.
Bahrain: Senior cleric Sheik Isa Qassim ... "Friday Sermon" on 4 March 2011.....
The criteria that govern our movement are the principles of the Sharia - justice, the national interest, national unity and non-sectarianism. We denounce all sectarian incitement, whether it comes from Shiites or Sunnis. And while we welcome the interest and support of the international media, we urge them not to colour our demands in terms of Shiites versus Sunnis. I also call on all those inside the country to refrain from the use of sectarian discourse. I call on all students in schools and all those in society not to act in response to sectarian incitement. Those who will indulge in hatred because of sectarianism are committing crimes against future generations and against our nation, both at present and in the future. Those who want to damage our generation in such a way our committing a big crime against our society and against our country. [Chanting from the crowd: "No to sectarian conflicts!"]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41923052/ns ... stn_africa

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia said Saturday it would ban all protests and marches after minority Shiites staged small protests in the oil-producing eastern province.

Security forces would use all measures to prevent any attempt to disrupt public order, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by state television.

..The ban follows a series of protests by Saudi Shiites in the kingdom's east in the past weeks mainly to demand the release of prisoners they say are long held without trial.

Will our president condemn the king when people start getting mowed down by security forces?

I think not.

Megadoom

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 32928.html

Saudi Arabia was yesterday drafting up to 10,000 security personnel into its north-eastern Shia Muslim provinces, clogging the highways into Dammam and other cities with busloads of troops in fear of next week's "day of rage" by what is now called the "Hunayn Revolution".

Saudi Arabia's worst nightmare – the arrival of the new Arab awakening of rebellion and insurrection in the kingdom – is now casting its long shadow over the House of Saud. Provoked by the Shia majority uprising in the neighbouring Sunni-dominated island of Bahrain, where protesters are calling for the overthrow of the ruling al-Khalifa family, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is widely reported to have told the Bahraini authorities that if they do not crush their Shia revolt, his own forces will.

The opposition is expecting at least 20,000 Saudis to gather in Riyadh and in the Shia Muslim provinces of the north-east of the country in six days, to demand an end to corruption and, if necessary, the overthrow of the House of Saud.

The need for oil encompasses our doom!


Megadoom

As I've said before, they'll go from "citizens who desire democracy" to "radical extremists, al qaeda elements, etc."
Just watch how the media flips...

Megadoom: can i request that the thread be re-named "Official Arabian Peninsula Protest Thread"? It has stuff about Yemen and Bahrain as well, Oman and any other place in the Persian Gulf (aside from Iran) could be here.

Coming off days of anti-government demonstrations, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry warned Saturday that it would crack down on protesters who continue to take their grievances to the streets...

Saudi security forces will be "authorized to take all measures against anyone who tries to break the law and cause disorder," the ministry said, according to the country's state-run news agency...

The Interior Ministry spokesman said that kingdom law prevents all kinds of demonstrations, protests, strikes and even a call for them because they're against Sharia law and Saudi values and traditions.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/05/saudi.arabia.protest/

Megadoom: can i request that the thread be re-named "Official Arabian Peninsula Protest Thread"? It has stuff about Yemen and Bahrain as well, Oman and any other place in the Persian Gulf (aside from Iran) could be here.

Yes of course.

Megadoom