(New York Times) Neil MacFarquhar - Even those who pursue the mildest forms of protest in Saudi Arabia are slapped with long prison sentences. The right to assemble does not exist, political parties are banned along with nongovernment organizations, and the ruling princes constantly tell editors what they can print. Local television is almost all clerics, all the time. The many Islamic theological institutions that maintain the rule of the Saud princes determine the parameters of any public debate. They evaluate everything through the prism of the Wahhabi teachings unique to Saudi Arabia, vehemently rejecting any alternative. For many reformists, the lack of free speech grates most; obtaining it is a far higher priority than elections or other formal ingredients of Western democracy.
2005-06-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive