October 26, 2003	Sunday	Sha’aban 29, 1424

DUBAI, Oct 25: The London-based Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA) called on Saturday for a demonstration in Makkah during Ramazan, following earlier demonstrations in the kingdom.

“If circumstances permit, we are calling for an impressive demonstration in Makkah near the end of Ramazan,” spokesman Saad Faqih told AFP by telephone.

The exiled group has made earlier, and successful, calls for rallies, the first of which led to several hundred people turning out in Riyadh on October 14 in a rare demonstration calling for reforms.

The protest, mounted during the kingdom’s first human rights conference, led to the arrest of 271 people, of whom 188 were freed and 83 remain in custody, according to the ministry of interior.

On Thursday, Saudi security forces detained more than 70 demonstrators to halt fresh protests called by MIRA. Five women were among some 50 people detained in Jeddah, another 13 were picked up in Hail, north of Riyadh, and at least 10 were arrested in Dammam in the oil-rich Eastern Province, witnesses said.

“The demonstrations will continue during Ramazan. The demonstration in Makkah could be started at the Grand Mosque,” Faqih said, claiming “the rights of Saudis to demonstrate to denounce injustice and corruption in the kingdom.”

“Why don’t Saudi citizens have the right to demonstrate, including in Makkah, like the Iranians?” asked Faqih, in reference to traditional protests by Iranian pilgrims on the Arafat plain, near Makkah, during the high point of the annual Muslim pilgrimage.

Saudi Arabia strictly outlaws any demonstrations.—AFP