Saudi Arabia feeling winds of change as Middle East unravels

Saudi Arabia feeling winds of change as Middle East unravels

Saudi Arabia is slowly feeling the tension in the Middle East intensify even as it tries to shield itself from the upheavals that have swept the region.

A statement by academics, businessmen and activists was posted in multiple Saudi Arabia web sites yesterday calling for reforms in the oil-rich kingdom. They pressed the government led by King Abdullah to create a constitutional monarchy and institute other changes which have been promised before but has been for them painfully slow in coming.

"The current situation...is full or reasons for concern," said the statement. "We are seeing...a receding of Saudi Arabia's prominent regional role for which our nation was known and the...prevalence of corruption and nepotism, the exacerbation of factionalism and a widening in the gap between state and society."

Alluding to the present crisis in the Middle East that threatens Saudi Arabia, the statement added that "the people's consent is the sole guarantee for the unity and stability."

The activists also lamented about how the wealth of the largest oil producer in the world has failed to be distributed more widely to Saudi Arabia's population.

King Abdullah seems to be responding to some of the clamor, ordering a slew of measures designed to raise incomes. Last Wednesday, he ordered $36 billion worth of incentives to help low-income families. Government employees will enjoy a 15 percent increase in their cost of living allowances under the plan.

He followed that plan with an order on Sunday to make permanent public sector workers with temporary contracts. Joblessness and poor economic conditions are the major triggers for the unrest in the region that can now also threaten Saudi Arabia.

Posted by James Fried on Monday February 28 2011, 4:54 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0