Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said
on Monday its security forces would use "an iron fist" to end violence
in a Shi'ite Muslim area of the country and defended its tactics against
what it called foreign-backed troublemakers.
Sunni Muslim kingdom Saudi Arabia has blamed an unnamed foreign
power, widely understood to mean Shi'ite Iran, for backing attacks on
its security forces in its Eastern Province. But members of the Shi'ite minority in the area have accused the
kingdom's own security force of using violence against protesters. "It is the state's right to confront those that confront it first ...
and the Saudi Arabian security forces will confront such situations ...
with determination and force and with an iron first," the ministry said
in a statement. The statement came in response to a sermon preached in the Qatif area
of the Eastern Province last week that criticized the government's
handling of the situation, in which at least six people have been
killed, a ministry spokesman said.
Shi'ite activists in Qatif said the clashes first began at the height
of the Arab uprisings last year and were provoked by the detention
without charge of political campaigners.
Four people were killed in November, one in January and one earlier
this month, the interior ministry has said in past statements. Members of the minority have long complained of discrimination, which
they say makes it harder for them to find government jobs, attend
university or worship in open than members of the Sunni majority. Since the protests and clashes started last year, they have also
complained of police checkpoints and patrols which they describe as
heavy handed.
The government says it does not discriminate against Shi'ites and has
said the increased security is intended to protect Qatif residents. It has repeatedly blamed the clashes on people attacking security forces.
The statement said the security forces were using "the greatest
restraint ... despite continuing provocations" and "will not act except
in self defense and will not initiate confrontations." "Some of those few (who attacked security forces) are manipulated by
foreign hands because of the kingdom's honorable foreign policy
positions towards Arab and Islamic countries," the ministry's spokesman
said in the statement. Saudi Arabia and Iran have fought for influence across the Middle East.
No comments:
Post a Comment