Senior Activist Concerned about Tense Situation in S. Arabia

Director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia Ali Al-Yami said the ruling system’s oppressions have strained the situation in his country as Riyadh rulers have dissuaded the Saudi people from pinning any hope on governmental reforms in the Persian Gulf Arab state.

“The Saudi people have the necessary motivation to continue their revolution to materialize their demands,” Yami told Iran-based Al-Alam news channel on Sunday.

He said that the Saudi regime’s continued violence, massacre and kidnapping of the people is deteriorating the conditions rather than resolving problems.

Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in the Kingdom’s east, mainly in Qatif and Awamiyah, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the oil-rich region.

Saudi forces have also arrested more than 700 people including prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses expression critical of the government.”