veiled4allah: a tiny step forward

Saudi reformists on Tuesday hailed as a major step a government decision to hold elections for the first time in the absolute monarchy but hoped it would not be a one-off move to appease growing calls for reform. Saudi analysts said plans for municipal polls were a signal the government was serious about expanding popular participation in the kingdom which has come under pressure from inside and in the West to grant more freedoms and quash militancy.

"What is taking place in Saudi Arabia is a very radical reassessment of the social contract," the English-language Arab News daily said in an editorial.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the capital Riyadh on Tuesday in a rare show of public opposition, demanding reforms, during the kingdom's first human rights conference.

Abdul Rahman al-Sueilam, head of the Saudi Red Crescent Society, said the government was trying to reach out to citizens by introducing local elections.

"This step reflects the changes and developments taking place in the Saudi society. We are optimistic that this step is an attempt to allow society to participate in order to sense their needs," Sueilam told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia, birthplace of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has come under intense scrutiny after the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals.

Abdullah al-Hamed, a former university professor who was jailed after signing the first reform petition in the early 1990s, said nothing short of a move towards a constitutional monarchy with a parliament would reassure citizens.

"On the surface this is a step in the right direction...But we are facing the challenge of violence, and many people support Osama bin Laden and his likes, and this step does not meet this challenge," he told Reuters by telephone.

"We need a publicly announced government reform strategy for a constitutional monarchy, separation of powers, a parliament and announcing civil, economic and social rights of citizens."

He said the one-year timeframe to prepare for municipal polls showed the state was aware it could not afford to waste time. But he said it was not clear if councils would be merely advisory like the appointed consultative Shura Council or if they would have power. Election regulations are also not known.

The cabinet said half of council members would be elected.

EXPERIMENTING WITH DEMOCRACY

In taking this action Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has joined a growing trend towards experiments in democracy in the mainly conservative Gulf region.

Analyst Dawoud al-Shiryan said the move would help curb militancy by providing channels for people to air grievances other than through violence. "This step was a message directed internally and externally that there is a serious (intention) for political and economic reforms."

King Fahd has pledged to expand reforms and the kingdom has launched a national dialogue centre to promote tolerance.

Reformists have repeatedly petitioned de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah to allow wider political participation, elections, freedom of expression and fair distribution of wealth in the country, the world's largest oil exporter.

"So that we are not left standing on one foot, we need faster steps to establish a national foundation based on mutual trust, public opinion and to narrow the gap between the government and citizens to build a more stable foundation in our long journey ahead," the leading al-Riyadh daily said.