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How to Make Violence Inevitable in Saudi Arabia

(Daily Star-Lebanon) Mai Yamani - While traditional Arab monarchies and emirates are changing in the wake of a democratic tide sweeping across the Arab world, Saudi Arabia remains a huge and seemingly immovable obstacle to region-wide reform. On May 15, three leading reformers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to nine years for calling for a constitutional monarchy. Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, is keen to be seen as a champion of reform. But his half-brother and more powerful rival, Prince Nayef, the interior minister, ordered the arrests, trial and imprisonment of 13 reformers in March 2004. Under regional and international pressure, the Saudi ruling family has constructed a Potemkin village of reform while retaining absolute control over all political developments. Earlier this year it staged partial, tightly-regulated municipal elections. The entire female population was excluded, and only a quarter of the male population was eligible to vote. Inevitably, Wahhabi Islamists did best. The writer is a research fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.
2005-06-02 00:00:00
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