The Guardian: Peace Reigning in the House of Saud May Well Be Illusory

The British daily, the Guardian considered that the calm which Saudi Arabia has been witnessing in this time, despite the turmoil sweeping through the Middle East, might well be “illusory.”

In its edition published on Monday, the daily said it was difficult “to overstate the turmoil sweeping today through the Middle East,” adding that ‘neither state nor border is immune from violent change.”

Titled by: “House of Saud: built on sand,” the article considered that Until now Saudi Arabia has been an oasis of calm in a region in turmoil, but without significant reforms that may not last.

“And yet, Saudi Arabia which bestrides the path of this faultline, appears an oasis of calm. Peace reigning in the House of Saud may well be illusory,” the article said.
The Guardian said that the “warning signs” were there for all to see.

“When two prominent human rights activists were given sentences in March which were harsh even by the kingdom’s draconian standards – 10 years for charges which included sedition and giving inaccurate information to the media – the regime was denounced by the most popular cleric in the country.”

It mentioned that Salman al-Odah’s “open letter” broke all taboos as his calls for reform were squarely directed at the royal family itself. The article noted that “Odah’s words, and such a public act of defiance, electrified the social media in the country, spreading far beyond his own 2.8m Twitter followers.”

It pointed out that the House of Saud is far from united itself.
“The line of succession which passed along the 20 surviving sons of King Abdul-Aziz al-Saud, five of whom became king, is rapidly running out of road, as ageing heirs drop off their gilded perch before they can inherit the crown,” the daily clarified.

“It is essential that the voice of reform is heeded in the transition that is about to take place. There is still an opportunity to change peacefully. Ignore it, and what happened elsewhere could well happen here too,” it concluded.