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'Day of Rage' Planned for Saudi Arabia

   VOA News  March 10, 2011
   Saudi   Shi'ite   protesters   hold   Saudi  flags  and  portraits  of
   unidentified  prisoners during a demonstration in Qatif, Saudi Arabia,
   March 9, 2011

Photo: AP

   Saudi   Shi'ite   protesters   hold   Saudi  flags  and  portraits  of
   unidentified  prisoners during a demonstration in Qatif, Saudi Arabia,
   March 9, 2011

   Activists are using the Internet to urge Saudis to take to the streets
   on Friday for an anti-government "Day of Rage" rally.
   The  call  comes  after  a  Saudi  ban  on protests that was announced
   earlier  this  month.   The  government enacted the ban after several
   small  groups  of  demonstrators  gathered  to  demand  change  in the
   conservative kingdom.
   Large opposition rallies are very unusual in Saudi Arabia, but several
   thousand  people  have  joined  Internet  groups  calling for Friday's
   protest  in  the  capital,  Riyadh.  Organizers say they will use the
   rally to call for major political and social change. Â
   In  February, Saudi King Abdullah announced a number of reforms, in an
   apparent  effort  to  appease  citizens in the wake of anti-government
   protests elsewhere in the Middle East. Â
   The  incentives  included  pay  raises,  increased  spending on social
   programs and interest-free loans.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
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References

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