Saudi Democracy Group Cancels Public Sit-In After Permit Refused
A Saudi democracy advocate group canceled a sit-in planned for tomorrow to promote political change in the Middle East’s least democratic country after being denied a permit by the kingdom’s Interior Ministry.
“The public sit-in organizers were summoned to the Ministry of Interior,” the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association said in an e-mailed statement today. “They were informed that the sit-in request was refused without providing further legal justification preventing peaceful assemblies and protests.”
Saudi Arabia, a G-20 member, is an absolute monarchy ruled by six kings since it was established in 1932. King Abdullah, who is the 13th son of the founder King Abdulaziz, has ruled the world’s largest oil supplier since 2005. He is now recuperating from back surgery in New York.
The Riyadh-based democracy group announced last month that it would hold the sit-in this week in the capital. The organizers planned to call for greater political openness, more employment opportunities for Saudi citizens and an end to benefits given to members of the kingdom’s royal family.
“Activities such as these are prohibited under Saudi law,” the Interior Ministry spokesman, Major General Mansour al-Turki, said in a phone interview today.
Saudi Arabia is the least democratic country in the Middle East and ranks 160th out of 167 countries worldwide, according to the Democracy Index for 2010 published by the Economist Intelligence Unit. All political parties and organizations are banned in Saudi Arabia.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Riyadh at gcarey8@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net.
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