.Saudis crave change but wary of revolt
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RIYADH — The Saudi people hunger for deep political and economic reform but the failure of a “Day of Rage” called by cyber activists on Friday showed they are not ready to revolt, analysts said.
There were no reports of unrest in the kingdom on Friday as security forces launched a massive clampdown to deter demonstrators from answering a Facebook call to take to the streets.
“I think the Saudi people are prepared for change but not ready to revolt. This explains why calls for protests miserably failed,” human rights activist Fuad al-Farhan told AFP.
Rallies to press for democratic reform in the oil-rich absolute monarchy were supposed to start after Muslim weekly prayers on Friday but the mosques emptied with no signs of unrest, only a menacing security presence.... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110314com3.html
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