The Two Abdullahs Need To Go

Democracy's Despair

If Gaddafi can treat half of Libya like Saddam Hussein treated Kuwait, if the Saudi king can send his army into a neighboring country to pull a Gaddafi on a people peacefully demonstrating for democracy, if we are requesting Chinese and Russian cooperation for the necessary work for democracy - I mean, we might as well seek Gaddafi's cooperation on human rights then - I am at a loss for words.

For the first time I have begun to have my doubts about Barack Obama. I am not seeing much audacity. I am not seeing much hope.

The fire of democracy is being snuffed out by two mad dogs in the Middle East through brute force.

This is how the Burmese Generals did it a few years back. This is how they did it in Iran in 2009. They decided there was no limit to how much brute force they were willing to unleash upon a peacefully demonstrating people.

I am not feeling too good right now.

The thing to do was to get a NATO mandate to make surgical strikes to take the mad dog out early on when the rebels were looking to march on Tripoli. Instead you have a scenario where Gaddafi is about to bulldoze Benghazi. This is sad.

If Gaddafi and the Saudi king get away with what they are doing, forget the idea of democracy demonstrations in China. It is not happening. The momentum will have been broken. A democracy movement is all about momentum.

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Image via WikipediaThere is absolutely nothing special about the Saudi king. The monarchy is a feudal institution. Monarchies everywhere are feudal institutions. Monarchies everywhere, in small countries and big, need to go.

The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too

And Friday is the best possible day to plan protests. You say your prayers. And then you come out into the streets in force.

The Independent: Saudi Arabia bans all marches as mass protest is planned for Friday: Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer and the regional domino whose fall the West fears most, yesterday announced that it would ban all protests and marches. The move – the stick to match the carrot of benefits worth $37bn (£23bn) recently offered citizens in an effort to stave off the unrest that has overtaken nearby states – comes before a "day of rage" threatened for this Friday by opponents of the regime....... The Saudi Interior Ministry said the kingdom has banned all demonstrations because they contradict Islamic laws and social values...... a statement broadcast on Saudi television said the authorities would "use all measures" to prevent any attempt to disrupt public order .... the ruling House of Saud had drafted security forces, possibly numbering up to 10,000, into the north-eastern provinces. These areas, home to most of the country's Shia Muslim minority ..... Not only are the Shia areas close to Bahrain, scene of some potent unrest in recent weeks, but they are also where most of the Saudi oil fields lie. More than two million Shias are thought to live there ..... the day of protest called for this Friday was – perhaps still is – likely to attract more than restive Shias in the east. There have been growing murmurs of discontent in recent weeks; protesters have not only been much emboldened by the success of popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, but online channels of communication by those contemplating rebellion have been established. Some estimates indicate that as many as 20,000 were planning to protest in Riyadh, as well as in the east, on Friday

For the longest time the royals in Saudi Arabia have been Marxists. Karl Marx said religion was "the opium of the masses." And so the Saudi royals have used religion as the reason they should rule. Get religion?

Now is the time to turn the table upside down. You use the prayer day as the day of protests. You use your religion against the king.
Image via Wikipedia
The Saudi king has the option to become a constitutional monarch, but only if he does not end up doing something stupid like unleash animal brutality upon a peacefully protesting people.

Los Angeles Times: Saudi Arabia activists warned that ban on protests will be enforced: Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry warns that public demonstrations are a violation of Sharia law. ..... fresh evidence of the government's growing nervousness over political unrest among its neighbors and calls for change at home. ...... discontent is lapping at its borders, most notably in Bahrain and Yemen ..... groups of intellectuals, liberals and Islamists around the country have signed various petitions asking King Abdullah and the ruling family to implement reforms, including ending religious and gender discrimination and moving toward a constitutional monarchy. ..... A week ago, the Shiite cleric Sheik Tawfiq Amer was arrested after giving a sermon in Hofuf calling for fundamental reforms, including adopting a constitutional monarchy. Amnesty International says the cleric is being held incommunicado and may be at "risk of torture or other ill-treatment."

Early signs are that Saudi Arabia is on its way to becoming a republic.

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