Demonstrations began spreading to Saudi Arabia: In Jeddah, youngsters took the streets and demanded reform. The Youth for Change movement is inspired from the young people in Egypt, which are nearby.
On the other side of the huge oil producing country, another type of uprising began: Shiites, a minority in Sunni Saudi Arabia, have shown their solidarity for the Shiites in Bahrain. The protest took place in a small town named Awwamiya. While this is a small town, it resides in the oil-rich province of Qatif. Shiite riots at critical cities close to the Persian gulf might have a huge impact on the price of oil. The protests are rather small, but they have going on for quite a few days.
Saudi Arabia isn’t immune to unrest, despite its wealth. The oil wealth isn’t distributed evenly between the citizens, to say the least.
A “day of rage” is planned in the Saudi kingdom on March 11th.
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Higher oil prices have weighed on the dollar. While the civil war in Libya could end with NATO’s intervention, Saudi Arabia is already a much bigger producer.