Saudi Ambassador Visits Durham
CRITICISES U.S., BLAIR ON PALESTINE AND IRAQ:
“WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH”
SAUDI ARABIA “AT CENTRE OF BATTLE AGAINST TERRORISM” reports
Alexander Edwards…
Saudi Arabia Today | Human Rights
Saudi Arabia Today
HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to the UK, visited Collingwood College on Tuesday night to deliver an address titled ‘Saudi Arabia today’. Prince Turki spoke for about an hour, denouncing what he saw as an unbalanced portrayal of the Saudi regime in the western media as “an old, autocratic, corrupt government on the verge of collapse”, going on to claim that the government was in fact stable and the “economy booming”, while admitting that the wealthy desert kingdom found itself at a “pivotal moment” in its history at “the centre of the battle against terrorism”, 
undeniable given recent signs of instability. He also argued that enhanced cultural and religious understanding and more academic and cultural exchanges were necessary between Saudi Arabia and the west, as well as offering guarded criticism of the handling of the war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Prince Turki claimed that Saudi Arabians were viewed in many quarters as a “violent people who sponsor terrorism”. He questioned this claim, pointing out Al-Qaeda’s numerous threats to the Saudi government, and the fact that one of the central tenets of Al-Qaeda’s ideology was the overthrow of the ruling pro-western House of Saud and the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in its place. He then denounced the Al-Qaeda organisation as “a terrorist cult born in the war-torn hills of Afghanistan” that has “left logic… behind”, – this is despite the fact that like Osama Bin Laden himself, 15 of the 19 hijackers who took part in the September 11 attacks were originally from Saudi Arabia. There is also a long history of terror attacks against western military and civilian targets in the kingdom.
Human Rights
He also claimed that progress towards establishing human rights and democracy was being made in the kingdom, pointing to the recent doubling in size of the Consultative Council, which advises the monarchy, and its admission of female members, arguing that it “in a few years it will become an elected, legislative body”. This came despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is at present an absolutist, theocratic monarchy where political parties are illegal and the press strictly censored. On the issue of the forthcoming nationwide municipal elections, which Interior Minister Prince Nayef announced on Monday would not include women as candidates or voters, Prince Turki was conspicuously silent. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has recently criticised this decision, telling the Seattle Times that “in every society in the world women have to be able to play their full role.”
On economic and development issues, Prince Turki praised recent advances in Saudi agriculture, industry and education, but said nothing about the problem of unemployment, widely reported Al-Jazeera to be running at between 10-30% within the native Saudi population despite the presence in Saudi Arabia of six million foreign workers, many destitute migrant workers from Asia and other Arab countries who perform menial tasks under poor conditions.
On the issues of Iraq and Palestine, Prince Turki offered guarded criticism of the handling of the reconstruction of Iraq, questioning the ability of the US-led Coalition to organise elections for a provisional government in January, given the doubts expressed by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan about the feasibility of such a plan in light of the current situation. However, Prince Turki also claimed that it was ultimately the responsibility of the US and UK to hand sovereignty in Iraq over to the Iraqi people. Regarding the Israeli-Palestine conflict, he stressed what he saw as the urgent need for an equitable solution for the Palestinian population, incorporating the formation of a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel. Urging Prime Minster Tony Blair to live up to his promise to make this a foreign policy priority, the prince said simply: “words are not enough”.
LINKS:
The charge of ‘non-serious’ news source, as levelled against us by some unnamed publications gets less plausible every day… Thanks Alex.
The charge of ‘non-serious’ news source, as levelled against us by some unnamed publications gets less plausible every day… Thanks Alex.
The charge of ‘non-serious’ news source, as levelled against us by some unnamed publications gets less plausible every day… Thanks Alex.
a bizarre twist of fate that this article sits next to mine on the durham21 front page, placing the saudi ambassador next to Iraqi Information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
a bizarre twist of fate that this article sits next to mine on the durham21 front page, placing the saudi ambassador next to Iraqi Information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
a bizarre twist of fate that this article sits next to mine on the durham21 front page, placing the saudi ambassador next to Iraqi Information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
Interesting, wish I’d been there for the address. Usual problem with Saudi: it’s certainly not the free, democratic, tolerant country everyone would like to see there – but it could very easily be a whole lot worse.
Interesting, wish I’d been there for the address. Usual problem with Saudi: it’s certainly not the free, democratic, tolerant country everyone would like to see there – but it could very easily be a whole lot worse.
Interesting, wish I’d been there for the address. Usual problem with Saudi: it’s certainly not the free, democratic, tolerant country everyone would like to see there – but it could very easily be a whole lot worse.
A heartwarming story for all you Saudi fans:
On Monday 11th March 15 girls burned to death as a consequence of a fire in one of Mecca’s schools. Male policemen from squads known as the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” prohibited the girls from escaping the fire because they were not wearing the Islamic veil. They also prevented firefighters from helping the girls, warning that, “Touching the girls is considered a sin and leads to severe punishment”.
What a country.
A heartwarming story for all you Saudi fans:
On Monday 11th March 15 girls burned to death as a consequence of a fire in one of Mecca’s schools. Male policemen from squads known as the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” prohibited the girls from escaping the fire because they were not wearing the Islamic veil. They also prevented firefighters from helping the girls, warning that, “Touching the girls is considered a sin and leads to severe punishment”.
What a country.
A heartwarming story for all you Saudi fans:
On Monday 11th March 15 girls burned to death as a consequence of a fire in one of Mecca’s schools. Male policemen from squads known as the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” prohibited the girls from escaping the fire because they were not wearing the Islamic veil. They also prevented firefighters from helping the girls, warning that, “Touching the girls is considered a sin and leads to severe punishment”.
What a country.
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