Hundreds of people have backed a Facebook campaign calling for a "day of rage" across Saudi Arabia next month to require an elected leader, better independence for women and release of political prisoners.

The page called for a "revolution of yearning" in the kingdom, the world's biggest oil exporter and which is ruled by an absolute monarchy.

More than 460 people had recommended the page by Wednesday morning, but it was impossible to verify how many of them were within Saudi Arabia or whether any protest would materialise.

Arab uprisings which overthrew leaders in Tunisia and Egypt were mobilised by youths using social media, but activists in Saudi Arabia say a recent Internet call for a demonstration in Riyadh been unsuccessful to get anyone onto the streets.

A protest last month in Jeddah after floods swept through Saudi Arabia's second-biggest city was quickly broken up.

The demands included "that the ruler and members of the Shura (Consultative) Council be elected by the people" as well as calls for an independent judiciary, release of political prisoners and the right of freedom of expression and assembly. They also sought a minimum wage of 10,000 riyals ($2,700), greater employment opportunities, establishing a watchdog to eliminate corruption and cancellation of "unjustified taxes and fees".

Other requests included reconstructing the armed forces, reforming Saudi Arabia's powerful and conservative Sunni Muslim clerics, and "the abolition of all illegal restrictions on women" in the kingdom.

Despite its oil riches, Saudi Arabia is grappling with unemployment that hit 10.5 percent in 2009. It offers its 18 million nationals social benefits but they are considered less generous than those provided by other Gulf Arab oil producers.


The measures did not include political reforms in the utter monarchy such as fresh municipal elections asked by liberals or opposition groups. The empire has no elected parliament and does not tolerate public dissent.

More than 10,000 individuals from all 50 US states have endorsed a an open letter by a coalition of leading Saudi Arabian women's legal rights activists calling on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to issue a public statement supporting their right to drive.

The effort follows the success of a series of campaigns by the women's coalition to free and acquit Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi mother dubbed the 'Saudi Rosa Parks' after she was arrested for driving her car. Campaigns led by Saudi women on Manal's behalf were joined by more than 60,000 people in 156 countries through Change.org, the world's fastest growing advocacy platform.

Call Saudi Arabia, Cheap Calls to Saudi Arabia

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