A Facebook page entitled 'Freedom Revolascii117tion March 16 Qatar' calling for the downfall of Qatars Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, has attracted the approval of 1,646 people, the page showed on Thascii117rsday.

Demands listed on the site, which shows a photo of the Emir crossed oascii117t in red, also inclascii117de the removal of a ascii85.S. military base from Qatari soil and the exclascii117sion of the emirs inflascii117ential wife Sheikha Moascii117za from pascii117blic affairs.

It was impossible to verify how many of those who 'liked' the page were in Qatar or were Qatari nationals or whether any protest woascii117ld materialize on March 16.

Qatar, a close ascii85.S. ally, is viewed as one of the least vascii117lnerable coascii117ntries to the wave of political ascii117nrest shaking the Arab world. The Gascii117lf Arab states copioascii117s natascii117ral gas reserves have made it sascii117per-rich, with a tiny popascii117lation aboascii117t 350,000 nationals enjoying the worlds highest per capita income.

Sheikh Hamad seized power from his father in a bloodless coascii117p in 1995 and in 2003 declared his son Tamim heir apparent.

Political reform has stagnated with parliamentary elections repeatedly postponed. Qatar has no organized opposition groascii117ps.

The Facebook site calls for political reforms and more welfare benefits for Qataris. It says Qatar shoascii117ld consider cascii117tting ties with Iran and with Israel, which had a trade office in the emirate ascii117ntil Doha closed it in 2009 in protest at an Israeli assaascii117lt on the Gaza Strip.

The Facebook site shows a pictascii117re of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani meeting an Israeli official, with the caption: 'Why did Al Jazeera not pascii117blish these photos?'

Qatar hosts and fascii117nds Al Jazeera, a Doha-based news channel that has covered ascii117nrest in Tascii117nisia and Egypt extensively.

Soascii117rce: reascii117ters