Assessing Discontent in Saudi Arabia

The Takeaway

The stock market in the Arab world’s wealthiest country has seen a consistent slide over the past week. Jitters in Saudi Arabia are almost certainly related to calls for protests in the country to reform the royal government into a constitutional monarchy.  Several groups have sent petitions to King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz with requests for reform. But it remains to be seen whether the reformists, who are gathering mostly on Facebook now, will be able to organize a large scale protest. What is the likelyhood of unrest in the country?   Laura Lynch  is reporting and blogging for the BBC and PRI show The World from Saudi Arabia this week. She has spoken with the Saudi Minister of Information, Abdul Aziz Mohiddin Khoja, who claims that the country is stable.

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