‘Saudi, most oppressive fascist regime’

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Press TV has talked with Collin Cavell, a political commentator from West Virginia, to further discuss the Saudi regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on the pro-democracy aspirations of its citizens in oil-rich eastern provinces.

Below is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Perhaps it is good for you to tell us about the significance of the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, Qatif in particular, and why it is that even though protests are illegal in the kingdom it does happen there and of course then compare that to what is going on maybe in Bahrain, since we know there is influence of Saudi Arabia in that Persian Gulf island.

Cavell: Well, for your listeners who are not familiar with that region, this in on the western border of Saudi Arabia, the eastern part of the Persian Gulf, north of the city of Dammam.

Al-Qatif is in the northern part of Dammam and the city where the two protesters were beaten to death, al-Awamiyah, is in the northern part of Qatif but all of these are the oil-producing regions in Saudi Arabia.

So the eastern part of Saudi Arabia is full of lots of oil and that is that the regime is very worried because the majority of the population there is overwhelmingly Shia and they are tired of monarchy, tired of oppression and they want democracy, they want democratic rights, and they want their resources, and this is why the regime is so brutal in beating protesters to death and sentencing them to 20 years in prison and this follows on an edict issued by King Abdullah earlier this month that says anybody who criticizes the regime, anybody who calls for any change will go to jail.

It is horrendous, this is a clear violation of universal rights that are in the United Nations charter.

Press TV: And quickly if you can, do you think that when these demonstrations break out in Qatif, that perhaps that there is a possibility of it spreading throughout Saudi Arabia?

Cavell: Absolutely. In fact every time someone risks speaking out against the regime, it gives hope, it gives encouragement, it gives motivation to all of the millions of others in Saudi Arabia who are tired of the prison-like conditions of that country.

Saudi Arabia, for those people who never have been there, is the most oppressive regime on the face of the earth. It is worse than the fascist dictatorships and so yes, speaking out gives encouragement. These are brave souls.