Saudi Shiite call for fairness

Sheikh Hassan al-Saffar, one of the senior Shiite leaders in Saudi Arabia has expressed his hope that discrimination against them will come to an end after the tremendous changes that took place in Iraq.

He added in the city of al-Qateif in the eastern area of Saudi Arabia "we continue our contacts with officials in our country, to deal with certain matters Shiite citizens in the Kingdom suffer concerning posts and sectarian discrimination between them and other citizens."

He added that this discrimination is represented "in not permitting the Shiite to serve their country in the military and security areas as well as in the diplomatic corp, in their limited representation at the Shoura council and in not giving them the chance to express themselves in the mass media in the kingdom, besides controlling them in practicing their religious rituals, in banning their cultural and religious activities officially as Shiite books are not permitted to be printed or entered into the Kingdom."

Sheikh al-Saffar was among other 13 Shiite Saudi figures from the Eastern area who issued a statement of April 18 welcoming the "collapse of the Iraqi dictator." Al-Saffar said that all "citizens in the Kingdom and the Arab states feel the need for political reforms," considering that this matter is not "only linked to the Shiite, on the ground that the Shiite have certain sufferings that differ from other citizens."