As protests engulf the region, Saudis too are making their voices heard. A petition addressed to King Abdulla is being circulated, with demands aimed at wide ranging political reforms.
The petition, entitled “Towards a Country with Rights and Institutions,” is available online, and contains a total of eight demands, written in a very polite and formal manner. It started with praising the kingdom and wishing the King good health.
The demands include:
أن يكون مجلس الشورى منتخباً بكامل أعضائه، و أن تكون له الصلاحية الكاملة في سنّ الأنظمة و الرقابة على الجهات التنفيذية بما في ذلك الرقابة على المال العام، و له حق مساءلة رئيس الوزراء و وزرائه.
The
Shura Council has to have fully elected members, and should have full authority to make regulations and monitor the executive bodies, including the control of public money, and has the right to investigate the Prime Minister and his ministers.
فصل رئاسة الوزراء عن الملك على أن يحظى رئيس مجلس الوزراء و وزارته بتزكية الملك وبثقة مجلس الشورى.
To separate the King from his position as the Prime Minister and the new Prime Minister should receive the endorsement of the King and the trust of the Shura Council.
العمل على إصلاح القضاء وتطويره ومنحه الاستقلالية التامة، وزيادة عدد القضاة بما يتناسب مع ارتفاع عدد السكان وما يترتب على ذلك من كثرة القضايا.
To begin work on judicial reform, its development and grant it full independence, and increase the number of judges in line with rising population and the consequent increase in the number of cases.
محاربةُ الفساد المالي و الإداري بكل صرامة و منع استغلال النفوذ أياً كان مصدره و مقاومة الإثراء غير المشروع و تفعيلُ هيئة مكافحة الفساد لتقوم بواجبها في الكشف عن
الفساد و مساءلةُ من يقع منه ذلك و إحالته إلى القضاء.
To fight financial and administrative corruption and strictly prevent the abuse of power regardless of the source resistance and illicit enrichment and activation of an anti-corruption body to perform its duty to disclose corruption and investigate it and refer them to the judiciary.
الإسراع بحلّ مشكلات الشباب و وضع الحلول الجذرية للقضاء على البطالة و توفير المساكن لتتحقق لهم بذلك الحياة الكريمة.
To speed up solutions for problems facing youth, and to develop solutions to eliminate the root causes of unemployment and the provision of housing in order to enable them to live a decent life.
تشجيع إنشاء مؤسسات المجتمع المدني و النقابات و إزالة كافة العوائق التنظيمية التي تحول دون قيامها.
To encourage the establishment of institutions of civil society and trade unions and remove all the regulatory barriers that prevent their establishment.
إطلاق حرية التعبير المسؤولة وفتح باب المشاركة العامة وإبداء الرأي، وتعديل أنظمة المطبوعات ولوائح النشر
.
The launch of responsible freedom of expression and open public participation and opinion, and modify the regulations and by-laws of publishing.
المبادرة إلى الإفراج عن مساجين الرأي و عن كل من انتهت محكوميته أو لم يصدر بحقه حكم قضائي دون تأخير. و تفعيل ” الأنظمة العدلية” بما فيها ” نظام الإجراءات الجزائية” و التزام الأجهزة الأمنية و “المباحث العامة” بتلك الأنظمة في الايقاف و التحقيق و السجن و المحاكمة و تمكين السجناء من اختيار محامين للدفاع عنهم و تيسير الاتصال بهم و محاكمتهم محاكمة علنية حسب ما نصت عليه تلك الأنظمة.
To initiate the release of prisoners of conscience and all of those whose sentences have ended as well as those detained but not sentenced yet without delay. And activation of the “systems of justice, ” including “Law of Criminal Procedure” and commitment of the security apparatus and “General Investigation” to those systems in the detention, investigation and imprisonment and trial procedures; and to enable the prisoners a choice of lawyers to defend them and facilitate their contact. They should also have access to a public trial as provided for in those regulations.
More than 1,000 Saudis have signed the petition and the number is growing. On its page on Facebook, there is more than 4,500 names. Among them are Islamic scholars such as Dr. Salman Alouda, and Dr Yousef Alahmed, as well as academicians, writers, officials and activists.
The letter caused and is still causing a storm of reactions among young Saudis, many of who continue to list their demands on Twitter under the hashtag #saudimataleb. Below are some of their reactions:
@AlanoudRaqeeb
#saudimataleb الفساد المالي مستشري في رأس الهرم…دكتورة مضاوي الرشيد
Financial corruption is on top of the pyramid” Dr. Madawi Alrasheed
@Baderibrahim
انتهت التقسيمات القديمة:إسلامي وليبرالي،سني وشيعي.الانقسام اليوم هو:مع التغيير أو ضده #Saudi #Saudimataleb
The old categorization is over: Islamic, Liberal, Sunni, and Shi'ite. The categorization today is: are you with or against change?
Moreover, an account was made under the name @SaudiMataleb to spread the word and the demands between Saudi tweeps.
However @SHIFT_0 disagrees:
#saudimataleb مع احترامي حنا شعب مصلحجي .. جتنا مصلحه الحكومه اقدع ناس .. مافيه مصلحه الحكومه ظالمه ويبيلها اصلاح
With all due respect, we are a nation of self-interest. If the government is of our interest, they are the best. If we have no interest with the government, then it is unjust and needs reform!
4 comments
Public endorsement of this petition, even if only on Facebook, takes incredible courage. With the unique exception of North Korea, Saudi Arabia is the single most oppressive society on Earth, all the more so because so many of its people support or at least accept the status quo. All Americans should be ashamed of our role in propping up this regime and, at the very least, wish these people good luck and safety. They will need both, especially the eastern Shi’a.
Unfortunately, the demands made by the CIA engineered demonstrators in Saudi Arabia do not state that people need a truly Islamic law. That is the crux of the problem. Western rogues d not support Islam in Islamic world all that they want is corrupt pro-west regimes. That is tragedy of globalized aimless, drunkard Muslims.
(Abdulruff)
I find it very sad that no where on this petition is there anything related to the rights of women ! Not on the petiton or in the comments. The women in Saudi lack a freedom many in this world take for granted . Im saying this because i fell in love with a young woman from saudi and we love eachother very very much. We are both very creative, loving, honest, and intelligent people. We both want the the exact same things in life. We both love and hate things about our own cultures and countries. Im From America. I know we are far from perfect, but who is lol all i know is i adhered to the idea of my country, Freedom , Equality, Oppurtunity, etc etc. Thats all i want for everyone on this planet. Were so lucky to have life and we only live it once ! WE should ALL be as equally responisble as the next person for making this one life the best it can be. For EVERYONE !
What we hate the most is that her and I have almost a 0 % chance of ever being together… Im an american and shes a saudi … who cares ! Were both very good people from the same planet that love eachother. Why does a few miles or thousands of miles seperate us as people ? Were all the same ! We share the sun and the moon together. Im definately not a hippie but cant we all just get along ?