Policemen stand by on a main street in Riyadh March 11, 2011. Police flooded the streets of the Saudi capital on Friday looking to deter a planned day of demonstrations and small protests were reported in the east of the oil-rich country that has been rattled by pan-Arab unrest. -Reuters Photo

RIYADH: Police flooded the streets of the Saudi capital on Friday to deter a planned day of protests inspired by pan-Arab revolt, but a small Shia demonstration was reported in the country's oil-producing east.

There was no sign of protest by late afternoon in Riyadh, in the kingdom's conservative Sunni heartland, a day after a clampdown on a Shia rally in the east showed the government was serious about enforcing a ban on demonstrations.

Scores of uniformed police patrolled Riyadh's main squares and helicopters buzzed over the city as police checked identity cards and searched car boots on roads leading to a mosque where protests had been expected after Friday prayers. Security was also tight in the second city of Jeddah.

“It is not in our culture to protest like in other countries,” one government official told Reuters, commenting on the absence of protesters. “I think people exaggerated in expecting such a huge thing.”

A loose coalition of liberals, rights activists, moderate Sunni Islamic activists and Shia Muslims has urged political reform and a Facebook page calling for demonstrations attracted more than 30,000 supporters.

Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter, a major US ally which has guaranteed Western energy supplies for decades, and the calls for protests have put markets on edge.

Protests in Riyadh, even on a small scale, would pose a challenge to the Saudi government as it tries to showcase itself as a stable country even as protests rage just over its borders in Bahrain, Yemen and Oman.

In Riyadh, a sole demonstrator approached a group of journalists on a government bus tour near a Saudi court of grievances, saying he wanted to demand democracy and greater freedoms but didn't find any fellow demonstrators.

“The people will come after two hours, maybe ... People are angry,” he said, appearing on the verge of tears. “They are scared. Everybody goes around the area and sees the police. They feel afraid. Come on. We are human.”

Activist Mohammed al-Qahtani, who has signed petitions demanding reforms and the sacking of the interior minister, said the security presence had dampened the appetite to speak out.