Saudi King Abdullah's admirable stance against Bashar Al Assad for committing atrocities against Syrians was a welcome move and offers a ray of hope that the Arab Spring may yet come to Saudi Arabia.
It was an unlikely public display of affection. Close to 2,000 Syrian expatriates gathered on the streets of Jeddah, carrying Saudi flags and pictures of the Saudi King to thank him for criticising Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and demanding an end to his wretched violence against his own people.
In an unusually frank criticism, the King demanded that Al-Assad end the violence against his own people, breaking the silence in the Arab World over one of the biggest atrocities being committed within the region.
But, "as a number of Saudi youths started joining the gathering [of Syrian expatriates], police intervened and dispersed the people peacefully," reported Arab News.
And this highlights the schizophrenic nature of politics in Saudi Arabia. While the Saudi King felt he could no longer remain silent on the daily acts of terror waged by the Syrian government over its people, he is conscious that public demonstrations of any kind are potentially incendiary.
He knows full well that even seemingly innocent public demonstrations can easily metamorph into giant acts of defiance that are capable of toppling regimes.
Of course, the schizophrenic Saudi foreign policy is also amply demonstrated by the fact that Riyadh has given refuge to the deposed President of Tunisia Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Yemen's current president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is recovering from burns after an attack on him by Yemeni opposition groups.
The Saudi King has not extended the same cordiality to Bashar Al Assad.
Recalling its ambassador from Syria was Saudi Arabia's way of sending a clear message to Bashar Al-Assad's regime to "activate quick and comprehensive reforms," according to the King's statement to its state agency.
The King must have weighed the implications of condemning the Syrian Government of committing atrocities, when Saudi Arabia's own forces led a Gulf-wide coalition in March to quell rebellion in the neighbouring state of Bahrain.
Ironically, Bahrain has also recalled its ambassador from Syria, along with Kuwait, in a further sign of close Gulf co-ordination since the onset of the Arab Spring. Qatar, ever the maverick in the GCC bloc, had already recalled its ambassador from Syria weeks ago.
AT ITS OWN PACE
Any body who has followed Saudi Arabia knows that the kingdom rarely bows to outside intervention. In fact, criticism from international quarters often appears to harden Riyadh's resolve to stand its ground.
The House of Saud had come under intense pressure earlier in the year to bring in social and political change within the country but it successfully quashed isolated incidents of demonstration and defiance from Saudi citizens, and replaced it with an economic and job-creating programmes.
But slowly, the country may well take steps toward reform at a time of its own choosing.
With the political pressure in Bahrain somewhat defused (even if it is temporary) and developments of its other client state Yemen coming to some kind of closure, Saudi Arabia may feel more relaxed in letting some of the Arab Spring breeze waft in.
Of course, the King's condemnation of the Syrian government is also an attack on its greatest rival Iran. Damascus is a long-time ally of Tehran and while its relations with Riyadh had hardly been friendly, this latest Saudi move seems to be the final straw for that frosty relationship.
PROACTIVE POLICIES
With this move, Saudi Arabia has once again taken the lead and stamped its authority on the region. This is not a new development as the Kingdom has been very active Arab Spring - if only to work against it.
Apart from appeasing its own citizens with handouts and $130-billion worth of investment programmes, the Kingdom and its Gulf allies have used all the resources at their disposal to manage, and even set, the regional agenda: military intervention in Bahrain, diplomatic efforts in Yemen, the offer of political and economic alliances for Jordan and Morocco and economic aid and gifts to Egypt.
In the emotional statement to the Syrian regime, King Abdullah noted that it was Saudi Arabia's "historical responsibility towards her brothers, demanding the stoppage of the killing machine and bloodshed, use of reason before it is too late, introduction and activation of reforms that are not entwined with promises, but actually achieved so that our brothers the citizens in Syria can feel them in their lives as dignity, glory and pride."
This is commendable and significant as many Saudis had resigned to the fact that their government would always prefer regimes over the will of their people. But this change in policy offers a ray of hope that in some capacity King Abdullah remains committed to reforms.
While the King has not categorically called for the removal of the Bashar regime - just reform - perhaps that might be a move the King may be contemplating for his own regime. Slowly, of course.
© alifarabia.com 2011
