October 1, 2004

IN A COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE LEBANESE MAGAZINE AL SAYYAD. PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ: THE DEVIANT GROUP IS A TEMPEST IN A TEA POT AND THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS REFLECT THE PROGRESS OF THE SAUDI SOCIETY. NATIONAL DIALOGUE STRENGTHEN NATIONAL UNITY. THE SECOND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OPENS A NUMBER OF NEW PROJECTS AT RIYADH AIR BASE. The Kingdom will soon root out the deviant group, declared Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General in reference to the ongoing campaign against Al-Qaeda sympathizers blamed for a series of bombings and shootouts across the country over the past 16 months. "Islamic history like world history is full of such deviant groups who appear abruptly triggering violence but disappear quickly. This group will also be crushed as they are deviants who will not last long," Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz told the Lebanese magazine Al-Sayyad. He said terrorism and violence were not a new phenomena. "We have seen violence in Europe and the United States. This reminds us that they do not occur because of Islamic reasons," he pointed out. He highlighted the government's efforts to contain terrorism and flush out terrorists. Prince Sultan said terrorism and violence would not receive any acceptability at Islamic and social levels, adding that Saudis would not accept destruction of the country's property and weakening of its relations with other countries or damaging the national economy. "The Kingdom's anti-terrorist operations cannot be called a war, because this deviant group does not deserve such a big word. Iman or faith in God is our main weapon to confront these renegades because those who believe in the right doctrine will have strong faith," he added. He said the anti-terror campaign was not targeting Islam. In his wide-ranging interview, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz noted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's efforts to bring about comprehensive political and social reforms taking into consideration their social acceptability. "The reforms demanded by some people are meant to overshoot social realities as they want the state to have a magic wand, and this is not possible," he explained. Referring to the forthcoming municipal elections, he said it was part of the reform plan announced by King Fahd on May 17, 2003. "It reflects the progress achieved by Saudi society and the wisdom of carrying out gradual reforms in tune with the nature of our society," he added. He reiterated Saudi Arabia's commitment to stabilize world oil market. "We know that chaotic oil prices will have negative impacts, which will not be limited to a particular country," he said. He blamed international oil companies as well as growing world demand in addition to worsening security situation in Iraq for skyrocketing oil prices. The Kingdom has the capacity to supply 1.3 million barrels daily in addition to its OPEC quota if market demands it. "Our goal is to bring down oil prices to $30 per barrel," he added. The Second Deputy Prime Minister said the government would continue its efforts to modernize its administrative systems. "Government agencies and civil servants will be reorganized to utilize financial and human resources with a high degree of efficiency. We will also improve working and monitoring systems in the civil service," he added. In his interview with the Lebanese "Al Sayyad" magazine published in its recent edition Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, stressed that all Saudis reject violence carried out by the deviant groups. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz said violence cannot be rationalized in Islamic or social terms especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Second Deputy Prime Minister added that Saudis do not accept the various kinds of damage caused by the blind violence practiced by the deviant groups. Prince Sultan stated that Saudis do not need to be taught how to be Muslims in a country that sponsors Islamic institutions and supports Muslims. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector said that describing what's happening in the kingdom as a war is an exaggeration noting that the Saudis' weapon against these rogue people is their strong and sound faith. Asked to what extent the deviant group has taken advantage of the pardon granted for one month by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz said we deal with this group on the basis of good advice and rules of religion. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on these bases has granted a period of pardon to the deviant group so that they come back. Some of them took advantage of the pardon and surrendered and the others are being dealt with accordingly. This was a wise decision and whoever took advantage of it made a wise decision. On the international situation and the spread of violence around the world, Prince Sultan said we all remember the violence that spread in Europe from certain areas and in the USA. But violence has diminished as it was confronted and it is worth mentioning that the violence was not because of Islamic reasons but others, thus violence is not new to the world. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz went on to say that, some Arab countries have faced violence but this was faced and dealt with through security measures. Prince Sultan stressed that violence is unacceptable, on the Islamic and social levels, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where people do not accept threats to their lives, their country and their economy because of the blind violence implemented by deviant groups. Prince Sultan pointed to the fact that the world has definitely seen how the Kingdom is fighting terrorism, and its citizens are supporting the leadership and the security forces in this fight. Prince Sultan stressed that the Kingdom is not fighting Islamic beliefs or behaviours, but it is facing a deviant group. He said we decided to fight violence, we have succeeded in this field, and we will root out this group. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz praised members of the Security Forces, the National Guard, the Armed Forces and all those who supported them in combating this deviant group. The Second Deputy Prime Minister said the unity amongst member of the Saudi society and the leadership has enabled us to fight these rogue groups. Prince Sultan stressed that the Saudi citizens realize the importance of national unity and cherish the achievements of their country, which was realized through their unity. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz stressed that national dialogue is in fact a consolidation of the national unity. The government undertakes building the economic infrastructure, but when we come to details and enter into discussion of priorities, then dialogue is a must, he said. The Second Deputy Prime Minister went on to say we are planning to conduct comprehensive development for the society as a whole. In this regard, we cannot jump over the realties of our society as might be demanded by others. We want all sectors of our society to take part in the social process, which has already started. We do not want to see anybody lagging behind, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz said. Asked about the forthcoming municipal elections in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Second Deputy Prime Minister said the decision issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz in May 2003 to hold Saudi Arabia's first municipal elections, came as a result of dialogue and consultations with wide sectors of our people. Prince Sultan added that wide range of consultations between different sectors of the society took place with the aim of continuing the political and administrative reforms thus the document called the King Fahd document was issued, followed by the Council of Ministers endorsement for the municipal elections. The Second Deputy Prime Minister went on to say that the elections will be held next November. Commenting on the role of the private sector in this process, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General called on businessmen and investors to invest their money inside the Kingdom, noting that the government has completed a comprehensive network of services necessary for a high jump of development. Commenting on the oil industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz said the Kingdom, which has made great strides in the field of the petroleum industry, is currently focusing on the gas industry in its endeavour to diversify its income sources. Recent discoveries put the Kingdom as the world's fourth in terms of gas reserves, the Second Deputy Prime Minister said, adding that the challenge now is how to organize this sector and continue to develop and expand the field of investments and channel the participation of the private sectors. Most important is to find support projects as auxiliaries of the country's main wealth, he concluded. Asked to comment on the recent oil price hikes, Prince Sultan said high prices have their positive impact in the form of support of state budgets of oil exporting countries. But, nevertheless, they have their long-run negative impacts on the world economy, integral part of which is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan added. He said soaring prices negatively affect the continuity of our clients and customers. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz cited the instability in Iraq and the region, the failures of international oil companies in refining areas, and increase of world demand as reasons for the current surge of oil prices. Prince Sultan said the responsibility of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the world's largest producer and exporter of the commodity, is to meet the world needs of oil. Accordingly, the Kingdom is prepared to increase its supplies to satisfy the needs of world customers on one hand and bring down the prices to their normal price of $30 dollars per barrel on the other, he concluded. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz cited the wise words of Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz in this concern. On the state budget surplus resulting from current high oil prices, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz said the surplus will be appropriated for the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the welfare of its people. The Second Deputy Prime Minister quoted remarks made by Crown Prince Abdullah last week that as much as SAR41 billion will be allotted to that end; the biggest portion of the surplus to write off public debt; and SAR30 billion for five-year social development. Commenting on the role of the human factor in development, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz said economic development ca not be achieved if our citizens were not educated, trained and given the chance to take the initiative to lead the development process. Prince Sultan referred to some steps taken in this field, particularly the Project for Organizing Government and Government Officials Body aiming at exploiting the financial and humanitarian resources with high-level efficiency and developed official auditing and prosecution control. On the other hand Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, opened a number of new projects at Riyadh Airbase. Speaking on the occasion, Commander of Riyadh Airbase Major General Mohammed Ibn Salim Al-Mutani highlighted the significant role being played by Riyadh Airbase in the development of the Royal Saudi Air Force. Later, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz laid the foundation stone for the first phase of the project of the soldiers' rooms. The project includes three buildings on an area of 1, 360 square meters for each building. The function was attended by Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh region, and other princes and officials.