ARAB WORLD | 20.03.2011

Civil unrest boils up in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria

 

Massive numbers of people gathered in Yemen

Large protests calling for changes in government and political reform are gaining steam in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Syria. So far only leaders in Syria have made any concessions to the increasing popular pressure.

 

Despite a large and heavily armed police presence, several dozen relatives of jailed Saudis have gathered out side the Interior Ministry in the capital, Riyadh, on Sunday time to demand information about prisoners who have been held for years without trial on security and terrorism charges.

Protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia, and in recent weeks, planned demonstrations largely fizzled out due to the threat of a large police presence should they take place. The country has not seen mass rallies on the scale of those that have taken place in other parts of the Arab world this year.

Witnesses in Riyadh said some arrests had been made among the protesters gathered at the interior ministry.

Police were out in force in Saudi Arabia, as they were in this picture taken last week

"We have seen at least three or four police vehicles taking people away," said an activist there who declined to be named told Reuters news agency. "Security have arrested around 15 people. They tried to go into the ministry to go and ask for the freedom of their loved ones."

On Friday, Saudi Arabian ruler King Abdullah offered $93 billion-worth of wage increases, jobs and construction projects but did not make any political concessions.

'Day of mourning' in Yemen

Massive crowds gathered in Yemen on Sunday, which President Ali Abdullah Saleh called Sunday a "national day of mourning" for around 50 people who were gunned down during protests against Saleh.

The shooting on Friday by gunmen on rooftops above a square where protesters had gathered sparked the resignation of three Yemeni ministers who said the attack was carried out my government forces.

The ministers for human rights, tourism and religious endowments have all resigned as has Yemen's ambassador to the United Nations. Several members of parliament have also chosen to leave office because of the incident.

Four people were killed Friday during protests in Yemen's capital, Sanaa

"These people must be held responsible for every drop of blood that has been shed," Ali Abed Rabbo al-Qadi, head of an independent parliamentary bloc, told the AFP news agency while attending funerals on Sunday for those killed.

Saleh denied any involvement in the killings and said the shooters were among the protesters. Both the United Nations and United States, which pays Yemen hundreds of millions of dollars to in militaray aid to fight al Qaida, condemned the shootings.

The demonstrators continuing a sit-in near Sanaa University from Friday considered Saleh's declaration of mourning insincere.

One of Yemen's largest tribal groups, Hashed, issued a statement Sunday calling on Saleh to heed the wishes of the people and step down peacefully. Saleh said he will stay in power until his current term ends in 2013.

Syria's small concessions

Syrian authorities on Sunday announced they would release 15 children whose arrest fuelled the demonstrations in which security personnel killed four civilians. The children, who had written pro-democracy slogans after being inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, would be immediately released, according to a government statement.

Syrian protesters want President Bashar Assad to leave office

The shooting took placed on Friday when security forces opened fire on civilians taking part in a peaceful protest in the southern city of Deraa. The protesters were demanding the release of the children, all under 16 years of age, as well as political freedoms and an end to corruption.

Calling for an inquiry into the deaths, eight human rights groups slammed "the violent and unjustified behavior of the security authorities who used excessive force to disperse a peaceful demonstration in Daraa."

"This policy, pursued by the authorities to disperse several other demonstrations in Damascus, Homs and Banias, reflects their severity towards the peaceful civil-society movement," the groups said in a joint statement. "It also goes against the right to assembly guaranteed by the Syrian constitution and the government's commitments on human rights."

Author: Matt Zuvela (AP, Reuters, AFP)

Editor: Sean Sinico