Saudi Spring; Egyptian Summer. posted by Richard Seymour

Saudi Arabia and Egypt, "America's two Middle Eastern allies" as Bush calls them, are developing inner movements for reform and democracy, under the most difficult conditions. In Saudi Arabia, anti-Royal dissidents are usually punished with a few hundred lashes to the back. Yet there have been demonstrations for democracy with increasing regularity, which the regime has felt the need to crack down on, even as it concedes 'partial elections' , in which - of course - women are not allowed to participate. The recent trial of the 'Riyad Triad', a group of liberal Islamists who support democracy but don't call for the end of monarchy, reveals some of the tensions. Initially, nine journalists covering the trial were arrested without apparent reason, but shortly afterward seven were released. The arrest of the Riyadh three in March 2003 was a blow to democracy campaigners in the country, and came in tandem with a new law preventing all public service employees (40% of the workforce) from expressing any criticism of government policy. At the same time there has been what Amnesty International calls a "disturbing increase in executions" .

President Bush has hypocritically attempted to attach his voice to the demand for democratic change in Saudi Arabia, but the US remains a supporter of the monarchy and a State Department report in 2003 omitted Saudi Arabia from criticism for religious oppression, because it was "determined not to be particularly severe". Saudi Arabia has traditionally received strong backing from America, particularly in arms exports . Even in recent years, when the rhetoric from the Whitehouse has been more critical of the Saudi oligarchy, the US continued to supply torture equipment to the regime.

Rosemary Hollis of the Royal Institute of International Affairs points out that the reaction in the Arab world to Bush's claim to support democracy in Saudi Arabia has not been sanguine:

The reaction in the region has been to say, if only the Americans acted like that themselves. They invaded Iraq, they refuse to recognize Yasser Arafat who was elected, and they would not dare to unleash opinion in Saudi Arabia because it might be anti-royal and anti-American.

The movement for democracy in Saudi Arabia needs and deserves better 'allies' than the Bush Whitehouse.


Bush, Mubarak and Abdullah - the sum total of US support in the Arab world.

Meanwhile, in Egypt - where the Cairo declaration against US imperialism was first formulated, and where antiwar demonstrations were among the strongest in the Middle East, socialists and other dissidents have been arrested as part of a state crackdown on dissent. The death penalty is increasingly coming into use, particularly against activists. And, as usual, for all the sweet noises being made by the US government, Egypt remains the second largest recipient of US military aid in the world. Relations between Bush and Mubarak remain warm .

The anticapitalist movement has spread its tentacles into the Middle East through the antiwar movement, and it is terrifying the ruling elites, driving them to greater and greater repression. Again, precisely at this moment, activists in Egypt and Saudi Arabia need international solidarity. Why not show your support?

Egyptian dissidents need solidarity : Send messages of protest to The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, 26 South Street, London, W1Y 6DD. Fax: 020 7491 1542.

E-mail: etembuk@hotmail.com