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| Arabia |
| Iran 'Concerned' over Saudi Violence against Shiites |
| 2012-07-11 |
| [An Nahar] Iran expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... on Tuesday over what it called "violent actions" by Saudi security forces against demonstrators from the country's Shiite minority, in which two people were killed. Tehran is "concerned by the violent actions carried out by Saudi forces against religious figures and the population" in the heavily Shiite east of the country, foreign ministry front man Ramin Mehmaparast was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying. He called on the "Saudi government to respond to the legitimate demands of the population and not use violence." Two protesters were killed in overnight festivities with police on Sunday night following the arrest of a prominent Shiite holy man, raising fears of a new wave of unrest in the Sunni-ruled kingdom's east. Dozens more protesters were maimed during the festivities that erupted when police opened fire to disperse a demonstration against the arrest of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, activists said. The Saudi interior ministry described Nimr as an "instigator of sedition." Ministry front man Mansour Turki said "security forces will not tolerate instigators of sedition who have offended their society and homeland, making of themselves tools in the hands of the nation's enemies." That was an apparent reference to the mainly Sunni Moslem kingdom's main regional rival, predominantly Shiite Iran. The 53-year-old Nimr called in 2009 for separating the Eastern Province's Shiite-populated Qatif and al-Ihsaa governorates from Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and uniting them with Shiite-majority Bahrain. |
| Posted by:Fred |