AFP - The security forces were deployed en masse on Friday in Riyadh and other Saudi cities where no event was reported, despite a call Facebook a "day of anger" in the oil kingdom.
The United States, the main ally of Saudi Arabia had called again Thursday to respect freedom of expression in the kingdom after an incident that left three wounded in eastern countries, where most minority Shiite.
Militants had launched on social networks Facebook and Twitter calls for a demonstration in an upscale neighborhood north of the Saudi capital after Friday prayers.These calls also apply to other cities like Jeddah and Dammam in the west to the east.
These unidentified militants demanding the establishment of elected institutions to replace the Shura consultative council whose members are appointed by the king and government, also left to the discretion of the sovereign.
But no event was reported earlier this afternoon in Riyadh or other cities of the kingdom.
The capital was gridded from morning by security forces, and dozens of police cars took up positions in Olaya, a commercial area in northern Riyadh.
Around the mosque where a demonstration was to start, hundreds of police were deployed and checked the identities of drivers.
No events have been reported in Jeddah, the major port city in western kingdom.
The situation was also quiet in the eastern province, according to a witness.
The police were heavily deployed in the Shiite region where three protesters were injured Thursday night when police dispersed a demonstration in Al-Qatif calling for the release of prisoners, witnesses said.
But according to a Saudi official, a protester fired at police who returned fire."The man was wounded and arrested," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The Shiites, who form 10% of the estimated 28 million Saudis consider themselves victims of discrimination in the kingdom ruled by a Sunni dynasty which advocates a strict vision of Islam.
Saudi authorities have recently reminded that demonstrations were banned in the kingdom.
A view that their American ally disagrees: "What we told the Saudis and everyone in the region (Middle East) is that we will support a set of universal values," he Thursday said Ben Rhodes, an advisor to President Barack Obama.
These values include "the right to assemble peacefully, freedom of expression," he said.
The activists behind the calls for protest, often based abroad, also demand a minimum wage to 10,000 riyals (2,667 dollars) and job creation for Saudis in a country where unemployment is estimated at more than 10% and 30% among those aged 20 to 30 years.
On 23 February, King Abdullah announced a package of social measures for more than 35 billion dollars. Other Gulf states have followed suit and Thursday, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has provided financial support of $ 20 billion in Bahrain and Oman, two members most affected by the wave of revolt.
