Cleric Underlines Iran's Full Support of Regional Uprisings

"Our great nation cannot ignore oppressions against the Muslim nations of the region by their tyrannical rulers and with the US green light," Khatami said addressing a large and fervent congregation of worshippers on Tehran University Campus on Friday.

"Saudi rulers are oppressing their own people and support dictators and have suppressed nations of the region. Hence, our religion and humanness requires us to adopt a stance and side with those who have a right.

"The nation of this country (Saudi Arabia) have a right to vote and they are asking for nothing but their rights."

"I tell these nations in a very clear and straightforward manner that although we, as required by the international rules, cannot come and be present in there, we extend our full spiritual support for you and we wish you victory," the Friday Prayers leader said.

His remarks came after the Saudi police cracked down on a Shiite popular uprising in an area around the city of al-Qatif earlier this week, injuring several people seriously.

Tension in the village boiled over Monday as Saudi police arrested two men, both in their 70s, in a bid to force their fugitive sons, accused of taking part in Shiite-led protests, to surrender, according to a Shiite activist.

Unrests escalated after the Kingdom's assistant minister of defense and aviation Prince Khalid bin Sultan told his troops located in the Qatif area they should be ready for all "possibilities".

Civilians who witnessed the clashes insist the Saudi state is brutally suppressing the protest.

"The situation is calm now in the village" of Al-Awamiya in Eastern Saudi Arabia, said Human Rights First Society head Ibrahim al-Mughaiteeb, after 14 people were injured in the police clampdown.

At a mosque in the village late on Tuesday, senior cleric Sheikh Nimr Nimr, said
Saudi "authorities depend on bullets ... and killing and imprisonment. We must depend on the roar of the word, on the words of justice," Nimr said following two days of Saudi clampdown on Shiite protesters.

A video posted on YouTube showed demonstrators chanting "Down with Mohammed bin Fahd," the governor of the Eastern Province and son of Saudi Arabia's former ruler, the late King Fahd.

Saudi Arabia first witnessed popular uprisings after it sent troops to the neighboring Bahrain to suppress the peaceful protestors in the country.

The overwhelming majority of the estimated two million Saudi Shiites live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, neighboring Bahrain, where they complain of discrimination by the government.

Security forces have been deployed and checkpoints set up in the Shiite-populated region since March, said Mugaiteeb.

Sheikh Nimr accused Saudi authorities of "provoking" the protesters by firing on them with live bullets.

Saudi Arabia, which vowed to deal "strictly" with those it branded as "traitors," had condemned the unrest as "blatant interference in its sovereignty."

Saudi Arabia has a Shiite minority, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the population, but relationship between the totalitarian regime and the Shiite have for long been tensed and the community has often accused the government of targeting them pretexting links with Iran or questioning their loyalty to the state.

In 2009, the US State Department published a human-rights report on Saudi Arabia noting that Shiite face "significant political, economic, legal, social and religious discrimination condoned by the government."

Saudi Arabia had managed to avoid major uprisings despite the growing wave of Islamic awakening and popular uprisings sweeping off some of the most established dictatorial regimes in the Arab world, but the latest incident shows fire has just started in the main Arab dictatorial regime in the region.

In recent months Shiite protesters, bolstered by the Arab uprisings, have staged more protests in the Qatif area with demands ranging from the release of Shiite prisoners to the withdrawal of Saudi forces sent to Bahrain to help quell protests led by members of the Shiite majority.

More broadly, Saudi Arabia has also had to face demands for more political and social reforms, with women also demanding for more changes and political space.

The Saudi regime has been accusing Iran of interfering in the domestic affairs of other Arab countries, including Bahrain, due to its free stances on the dictatorial regimes' clampdown on popular protests in recent months while Riyadh itself has dispatched troops to Bahrain and Yemen and is killing and suppressing the people there.

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Source: Fars News Agency

"Our great nation cannot ignore oppressions against the Muslim nations of the region by their tyrannical rulers and with the US green light," Khatami said addressing a large and fervent congregation of worshippers on Tehran University Campus on Friday. "Saudi rulers are oppressing their own people and support dictators and have suppressed nations of the region. Hence, our religion and humanness requires us to adopt a stance and side with those who have a right. "The nation of this country (Saudi Arabia) have a right to vote and they are asking for nothing but their rights." "I tell these nations in a very clear and straightforward manner that although we, as required by the international rules, cannot come and be present in there, we extend our full spiritual support for you and we wish you victory," the Friday Prayers leader said. His remarks came after the Saudi police cracked down on a Shiite popular uprising in an area around the city of al-Qatif earlier this week, injuring several people seriously. Tension in the village boiled over Monday as Saudi police arrested two men, both in their 70s, in a bid to force their fugitive sons, accused of taking part in Shiite-led protests, to surrender, according to a Shiite activist. Unrests escalated after the Kingdom's assistant minister of defense and aviation Prince Khalid bin Sultan told his troops located in the Qatif area they should be ready for all "possibilities". Civilians who witnessed the clashes insist the Saudi state is brutally suppressing the protest. "The situation is calm now in the village" of Al-Awamiya in Eastern Saudi Arabia, said Human Rights First Society head Ibrahim al-Mughaiteeb, after 14 people were injured in the police clampdown. At a mosque in the village late on Tuesday, senior cleric Sheikh Nimr Nimr, said Saudi "authorities depend on bullets ... and killing and imprisonment. We must depend on the roar of the word, on the words of justice," Nimr said following two days of Saudi clampdown on Shiite protesters. A video posted on YouTube showed demonstrators chanting "Down with Mohammed bin Fahd," the governor of the Eastern Province and son of Saudi Arabia's former ruler, the late King Fahd. Saudi Arabia first witnessed popular uprisings after it sent troops to the neighboring Bahrain to suppress the peaceful protestors in the country. The overwhelming majority of the estimated two million Saudi Shiites live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, neighboring Bahrain, where they complain of discrimination by the government. Security forces have been deployed and checkpoints set up in the Shiite-populated region since March, said Mugaiteeb. Sheikh Nimr accused Saudi authorities of "provoking" the protesters by firing on them with live bullets. Saudi Arabia, which vowed to deal "strictly" with those it branded as "traitors," had condemned the unrest as "blatant interference in its sovereignty." Saudi Arabia has a Shiite minority, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the population, but relationship between the totalitarian regime and the Shiite have for long been tensed and the community has often accused the government of targeting them pretexting links with Iran or questioning their loyalty to the state. In 2009, the US State Department published a human-rights report on Saudi Arabia noting that Shiite face "significant political, economic, legal, social and religious discrimination condoned by the government." Saudi Arabia had managed to avoid major uprisings despite the growing wave of Islamic awakening and popular uprisings sweeping off some of the most established dictatorial regimes in the Arab world, but the latest incident shows fire has just started in the main Arab dictatorial regime in the region. In recent months Shiite protesters, bolstered by the Arab uprisings, have staged more protests in the Qatif area with demands ranging from the release of Shiite prisoners to the withdrawal of Saudi forces sent to Bahrain to help quell protests led by members of the Shiite majority. More broadly, Saudi Arabia has also had to face demands for more political and social reforms, with women also demanding for more changes and political space. The Saudi regime has been accusing Iran of interfering in the domestic affairs of other Arab countries, including Bahrain, due to its free stances on the dictatorial regimes' clampdown on popular protests in recent months while Riyadh itself has dispatched troops to Bahrain and Yemen and is killing and suppressing the people there. The End Source: Fars News Agency