Bahraini, Saudi People to Stage Concurrent Rallies on Sunday

farsnews.com

The Bahraini and Saudi people are due to stage concurrent rallies in different parts of Bahrain and the Eastern Saudi Qatif region on Sunday to show their outrage at their tyrannical rulers and call for the freedom of political prisoners. The Sunday protests are due to be held under the title of "The Nation Will never Compromise" in the Saudi Qatif region and 50 regions across Bahrain. The organizers of the rallies have announced that the main goal behind the demonstrations is supporting and announcing solidarity with the Bahraini and Saudi dissident leaders who are experiencing harsh pressures and tortures in prison. Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's over-40-year rule. Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar - were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors. So far, more than 69 people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. Also, since February 2011, Saudi protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Eastern Provinces, mainly in the Qatif region and the town of 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 Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others. The Saudi interior ministry issued a statement on March 5, 2011, prohibiting "all forms of demonstrations, marches or protests, and calls for them, because that contradicts the principles of the Islamic Sharia, the values and traditions of Saudi society, and results in disturbing public order and harming public and private interests." In June, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered the country's security forces to go on a state of high alert due to what he called a "turbulent situation" in the region. According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime "routinely represses expression critical of the government".