The source said that while the sheikh denounced the violence of the youth instigators, he denied that the government has “a legitimate right to confront this hostility”.
The sheikh was ignoring the fact that these protests were “nothing but terrorism which gives the state every right to deal with it without [anyone accusing it of] regional or sectarian discrimination,” the source said.
The Ministry of Interior was determined to deal with these acts with an “iron fist” as it has dealt with other incidents of terrorism in the country, the source said.
He added that there can be no comparisons drawn between the Saudi government actions in some Al-Qatif villages, with violence taking place in some neighboring countries. He said the Saudi government’s security forces have not assaulted anyone. Some officers had simply acted in “legitimate self-defense” after being attacked by protesters, the source said.
The source emphasized that the security forces are dealing with the situation with a high degree of professionalism and have exercised maximum self-restraint despite “provocations and continued hostility”.
The source said that many security officers were injured in the confrontations “because of the terrorist acts carried out by this group”.
The security forces did not start the confrontations and did not punish anyone in the villages for the actions of this group. The Saudi government, said the source, follows the Qur’anic injunction to not punish anyone for the mistakes of others.
The source said this group is being instigated by foreign forces “because of the Kingdom’s honorable stance towards the Arab and Islamic Ummah”.
He said the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will continue to “carry out its national duty” by acting against anyone who “kills thousands of innocent fellow countrymen”.
