Saudi youth push ahead with demands

Tens of thousands of Saudi youths protesting the government's policies have posted their demands for greater civil liberties on an internet website.


The website Honein Revolution calls for the election of the Consultative Assembly members by the people, the impartiality of judiciary, and the release of political prisoners as the most important demands.

The youths have called for the removal of "illegal taxes imposed on poor classes of society, wage increases and job opportunities for young people."

Saudi Arabia is suffering from a high unemployment rate among young men, according to government figures, which indicate that more than 43 percent of citizens aged between 20 and 24 years are jobless.

The young protesters in Saudi Arabia have also called for the formation of an independent organization to supervise the country's fight against corruption.

Freedom of speech, removal of "illegal restrictions” on Saudi women, and a foreign policy based on national interests are among other demands posted on the website.

Meanwhile, more than 100 Saudi academics, activists and businessmen have called for reforms, including the establishment of a "constitutional monarchy," in the conservative Arab kingdom.

"We will submit these requests to King Abdullah at a later stage," Khaled al-Dakhil, a teacher of political science at the King Saud University said in a statement published on the internet.

"We have high hopes that these reforms will be implemented. Now is the time," said the academician and one of the 123 signatories of the petition.

Saudi youths have called for protests on March 11, dubbed as the "Day of Rage"