Saudi Arabia: Protests Reach Eastern Province

The flame of protests raging across the Arab world, from the Ocean to the Gulf, has reached the Saudi Arabian cities Al Qatif and Al Hafouf. More than 100 people gathered in each of the two cities for the release of Shiite cleric Tawfiq Al Amir, who was arrested on Friday, March 4, after calling for a constitutional monarchy and a war against corruption.

YouTube user Arabia Today uploads this video of the demonstration in Qatif, where protesters are chanting: “Our presence is peaceful, our demands are legitimate,” and “We will never forget those being imprisoned”:

Authorities arrested more than 20 protesters. Tweeps from all over the kingdom reacted to this unusual event, as protests are rare in Saudi Arabia, under the hashtags #qatif #qateef and #saudi.

Freedom is What We Call for!

A number of Saudi tweeps were in favour of the protests and below are some of their reactions:

@hashem911
#Qatif انتم معكم الاسلحة ونحن معنا الله. انتم معكم الدبابات ونحن معنا الايمان. ال خليفة وال سعود قريبا في مزبلة التاريخ ملعونين #bahrain
You've got the weapons and we've got Allah on our side. You've got tanks but we've got faith. Al Khalifa and Al Saud to the history's trash soon. Both are damned.
@Abdulwahab99
الشعوب باصرارها و تمسكها بالحق ستنتصر فذا كنت مع الحق فلا تبالي #bahrain #14feb #feb14 #bh14feb #saudimataleb #qatif
Nations with determination and which insist on their rights will win. So if you are righteous, don't worry

The Eastern Revolution has also created a Facebook fan page to trace all of movements.

On YouTube, Saudi2014 shares this scene of arrests in Qatif:

Salute to The Government!

On the other hand, some were against the protests, and called for their end, accusing the Shi'ites of being traitors:

@hifoorall
شباب السعودية: نحن مستعدين عن التخلي عن كل شي وحتى ارواحنا ولا ان تهددنا إيران #saudi #ksa #saudimataleb #qatif
The youth of Saudi: We're ready to give up everything even our lives but not to be threatened by Iran

@as_alshamrani
اللهم وفق ولاة الأمر لصالح البلاد والعباد .. آمين يارب #saudimataleb #ksa #saudi #Qatif #saudimatalib #mar11 #khoja #riyadhbook

I pray to Allah to guide the rulers of this country to what is best for the country and its people. Amen.
@rahhalksa
#saudimataleb #saudi #qatif كيف تنتحر سياسيا ١. تواجه دولة قوية ٢. تحارب وتشتم اكبر شريحة فيها ٣.تناصر فئة ولاؤها غير وطني
How to commit a political suicide? 1) Face a strong country 2) Insult the majority of the nation 3) Be loyal to a non patriotic people

Finally, an announcement from Hasan Almustafa a few hours ago today:

@halmustafa
#Saudi government release Sheikh Tawfiq #AlAmer, after demonstrations in AlAhsa and #Qatif, Eastern Kingdom.

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