Ain-Al-Yaqeen - January 7, 2005

		January 7, 2005

A MESSAGE FROM PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ TO THE YEMENI PRESIDENT CONCERNING JOINT BILATERAL COOPERATION.
THE SECOND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER INAUGURATES THE NEW HEADQUARTERS OF THE AIR DEFENSE FORCES COMMAND IN RIYADH AND JEDDAH.
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL ADDS THE NAME OF SAAD AL-FAQIH ON THE INTERNATIONAL LIST OF TERRORISM AND LONDON FREEZES HIS ASSETS.
THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATE: THE UNITED STATES TAKES THE ISSUE OF LYBIA'S PLOT TO ASSASSINATE CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH SERIOUSLY, AND LIBYA'S EXPLANATIONS TO DATE ARE "NOT SUFFICIENT" FOR AMERICAN OFFICIALS TO MAKE A JUDGMENT ON THE MATTER.

Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, sent a message to President Ali Abdullah Salih of the Republic of Yemen.

The message was delivered to President Salih during his meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Ibn Mirdas Al-Qahtani.

The message dealt with distinguished relations, aspects of joint cooperation between the two countries, ways of their enhancement, the outcome of the meetings of Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council recently held in Riyadh, and the latest developments at regional, Arab and international arenas.

On his part, the Yemeni president sent a message to Prince Sultan, wishing him continual good health and happiness and the Saudi people steady progress and prosperity.

On the other hand Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, inaugurated the new headquarters of the Air Defense Forces Command in Riyadh.

He was received at the venue by Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs; General Salih Ibn Ali Almohayya, Chief of General Staff, other commanders and senior armed forces officers.

Major General Adeeb Salamah, Director of Engineering and Housing Department at the air defense corps, briefed Prince Sultan on the contents of a replica of the building.

In response to questions from the press on the involvement of the Libyan regime in a life attempt on Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and whether the Kingdom is planning to file a legal suit against the Libyan leader Mu'ammar Algaddafi, Prince Sultan suggested that this matter concerns jurists and courts.

It is not allowed to go into such talk, he added.

Brushing away a question on whether the Kingdom would accept an Arab mediation to solve the Saudi Libyan dispute, Prince Sultan repeated the same answer.

In an answer to a question on whether the Kingdom is planning to officially announce the details of the plot against the Crown Prince, Prince Sultan said it is too early to mention anything since legal measures are in progress.

He reassured that the best services will be extended to all pilgrims when he was asked about the preparedness to receive Libyan and Iraqi pilgrims.

Asked if the Kingdom would appeal for the extradition of Saad Al Faqih following news revelations that he was involved in the support for international terrorism, Prince Sultan said he (Saad Al Faqih) is so unworthy that we won't comment on what he says.

The event was attended by Prince Fahd Ibn Abdullah Ibn Mohammed, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Civil Aviation Affairs, other princes, senior armed forces officers and a number of officials.

Meanwhile Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Premier and Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, received Benin's ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr Mahmoud Ali.

He also received here on Saturday Algerian Charge d'affaires in the Kingdom Ammar Ibn Al Sheikh.

On the other hand Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, signed a four-year contract for modernizing the two air control centers in Jeddah and Riyadh with a total value of more than SR160 million.

Following the signing of the contract, Prince Sultan explained that the modernization project of the two air control centers in Riyadh and Jeddah seeks to provide the best air navigation services and the highest standards of safety and air traffic flow in Saudi airspace and airports. It also aims at continuation of modernization and improvement programs of this vital sector.

Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz added that the project will meet the steady increase in the volume of air traffic in Saudi air space.

Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General received the Secretary General of the Arab Gulf cooperation Council Abdul-Rahman Ibn Hamad Al-Attiyah.

During the meeting, they exchanged talks on results of the recent Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Bahrain, support for joint GCC work in all fields and a number of current issues especially the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and Iraq.

Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, arrived in Al-Ghat Governorate to open Prince Turki Al-Ahmed Al-Sudairy Mosque, built at his own expense, and Al-Rahmaniyah Library.

He was received by Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Secretary General of Supreme Commission of Tourism, and Governor of Al-Ghat, Abdullah Ibn Nasser Al-Sudairi.

Prince Sultan had left Riyadh earlier and was seen off by Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, and a number of senior officials.

At Al-Ghat Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, patronized the opening ceremony of a number of charity projects in Al-Ghat Governorate, beginning with Prince Turki Ibn Ahmed Al-Sudairy Mosque, built at Prince Sultan's own expense at a cost of SR7 million.

He was received by Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Secretary General of Supreme Commission of Tourism, and Governor of Al-Ghat Governorate Abdullah Ibn Nasser Al-Sudairy and a number of officials.

Later, Prince Sultan opened Al Rahmaniyah library which was established by Prince Turki Ibn Ahmed Al-Sudairy.

Before leaving the venue, Prince Sultan told the press that the Saudi government is proceeding with its efforts to wipe out unemployment.

He disclosed that the Minister of Labor is planning to distribute a questionnaire on unemployment soon. He vowed that the government will cancel the word unemployment (from the Saudi market literature) in the few coming years.

The Second Deputy Prime Minister underlined the fact that the Saudi leadership, government and people are always progressing.

Prince Sultan reiterated his confidence in Saudi security men fighting the remaining members of the deviant group, saying they are fulfilling their national duties in the most efficient manner.

In response to a question on the deteriorating ties between the Kingdom and Libya, Prince Sultan declined to go into details, calling it a matter between governments and that people are not advised to indulge in it.

On a reported mediating role of Egypt in this matter, he declined to confirm nor deny.

He said the Kingdom was not officially notified of the presence of Saudis among insurgents in Iraq. If there were Saudi arrests or missed in Iraq, the Saudi government would never launch any endeavor to repatriate them as they have put their lives at risk.

In Riyadh a wanted man from the deviant group was killed and another of the group wounded in an exchange of fire with security forces last Tuesday evening. An unidentified worker was also killed during the encounter, according to an official source of the Ministry of Interior.

The source said: "The security forces were following two members of the deviant group riding in a car. The two stopped the car for fuel at a gas station in a residential area in Riyadh. The two started firing at the security men when they approached the car so the security men returned fire".

"As a result of the exchange of fire, one of the two (deviants) was killed, and the other was injured as well as a worker at the station was also killed," the source added.

The source noted that a security man was slightly injured. The source said that the security forces found in the car machineguns, ammunitions, bombs, computers, cash money and fake documents, adding that the incident is being followed up by the security bodies.

Supplementing an earlier statement on security forces' chasing of a car of two persons belonging to the deviant group and the consequent death of one them and the injury of the other in one of Riyadh's residential districts, an official source at the Ministry of Interior said that early today, the security forces that searched the area came under fire from a car ridden by a person who threw highly explosive grenade, lightly injuring four security men. The security forces at the scene chased the car and exchanged fire with its driver, killing him instantly.

Meanwhile, security forces in Jeddah province arrested a person suspected of belonging to the deviant group after he was injured because he resisted the security forces and tried to flee. Investigation is still under way. Another supplementary statement will be issued later to explain the details.

On the other hand the UN Security Council enrolled the name of the Saudi opposition member Saad al-Faqih on the international list of persons and establishments stand in support of terrorism.

Sources said that according to this measure, al-Faqih assets and his properties will be frozen wherever it exists in all parts of the world. This measure also makes it obligatory for all world countries to prevent al-Faqih from entering its lands even in transit travels.

Experts say that placing al-Faqih name who is living in Britain on the list will push London to take legal measures to try or expel him.

The British government decided to freeze the assets of the opposition Saudi Islamic Movement for Reforms; just one day after the UN Security Council approved similar sanctions against the chairman of the movement Saad al-Faqih and enrolled his name on the so-called terrorism list.

A statement by the British treasure office said that minister Gordon Brown gave his instructions to "England Bank" to instruct all British financial establishments to freeze the assets owned by the Islamic Movement For Reforms or those deposited for its interests.

The statement added that this decision was taken because the ministry has strong reasons to believe that this organization is working for the interest of Saad al-Faqih who lives in London, on which the USA said he is linked to al-Qaida organization.

The UN Security Council terrorism fighting committee said last Thursday that it listed the name of al-Faqih and the executive director of the Islamic charity establishment Adel Abdul Jalil al Batterjee on the international list for terrorism. A matter by which their assets will be frozen and are banned from travelling.

This measure came after a request proposed by each of Saudi Arabia, Britain and the USA to impose sanctions on the two men after the latter froze their assets because of their support for al-Qaida organization.

After announcing freezing of his assets in Washington, al-Faqih said he does not have accounts or assets in America.

On the other hand Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambassador from Libya and simultaneously expelled the Libyan ambassador in Riyadh after Tripoli's conspiracy to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz.

Sources said that the Libyan intelligence led an assassination attempt that targeted the Saudi Crown Prince in 2003 in order to destabilize the kingdom and that the Libyan leader Muammar al-Qathafi was involved in it.

Sources added the names of the two men who took part in the assassination attempt were the American of Eritrean origin Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi and the officer in the Libyan intelligence Muhammad Ismael who is still held in Saudi Arabia. The two men gave contradictory answers upon investigating them by American and Saudi officials. But al-Amoudi told the Federal Bureau for Investigation (FBI) that the assassination attempt was made with al-Qathafi consent.

The alleged plot against Crown Prince Abdullah was first outlined by U.S. investigators in their case against a prominent U.S. Muslim activist sentenced earlier this year to 23 years in prison for illegal business dealings with Libya.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud announced the measures, saying the Libyans would be sent a communique demanding their envoy in Riyadh go home.

He said the Saudi Embassy in Tripoli and the Libyan Embassy in Riyadh would remain open, insisting the kingdom does not want the Libyan people to suffer, particularly with the annual Muslim pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia starting next month.

The government has "limited its action to only these measures...despite the ugliness of what happened, in appreciation for the brotherly Libyan people," Prince Saud said.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said President George W. Bush's administration had repeatedly raised the purported assassination attempt with the Libyans but had not received sufficient explanation "to reach a definitive judgment on the matter."

Regarding another case, Prince Saud said the kingdom will comply with any measures the United Nations imposes against Saudi citizen Adel Batterjee. The U.S. Treasury Department moved to block the assets of Batterjee and another Saudi, London-based Saad Al-Faqih, saying they provided support to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network.

The agency submitted the two names to the UN for inclusion in its list of terrorist financiers. "Any action that the United Nations takes in that, including freezing assets, will be undertaken by Saudi Arabia," Prince Saud said.

The Saudi move on Libya came months after the assassination plot was first reported.

In July, Abdul Rahman Al-Amoudi pleaded guilty before a U.S. judge to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from high-ranking Libyan officials, while serving as a go-between for them and Saudi dissidents. Americans were banned from doing business with Libya at the time of the contacts.

While Al-Amoudi was not charged in connection with the alleged plot against Prince Abdullah, prosecutors cited the plot in requesting Al-Amoudi receive the maximum sentence, which he did in October.

A 20-page "statement of facts" filed by U.S. prosecutors said Libyan leader Muammar Al-Qathafi wanted Prince Abdullah killed after a March 2003 Arab League Summit during which the two exchanged sharp insults.

Within two weeks of the summit, al-Amoudi, who had in the past frequently travelled illegally to meet Libyan government officials, was summoned to a meeting in Tripoli and told Al-Qathafi wanted to punish Saudi leaders. The unidentified Libyan officials wanted Al-Amoudi to introduce them to Saudi dissidents who could create "headaches" for the Saudi regime, authorities said.

Al-Amoudi was not initially told the ultimate plan was to assassinate Prince Abdullah, learning of it only several months later from an unidentified "high-ranking Libyan government official," the court papers said.

The State Department said allegations of the Libyan plot against Crown Prince Abdullah, have slowed the growth of U.S.-Libyan relations.

Libya's decision a year ago to renounce weapons of mass destruction has been described as one of the Bush administration's major foreign policy achievements. But officials acknowledge that progress toward full relations with the Tripoli government has been stalled by the assassination issue.

Libyan leader Moammar AL-Qathafi allegedly ordered the killing after he and the Crown Prince Abdullah argued at an Arab League summit in 2003.

Libya has insisted there never was an assassination plot. But at a news briefing State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States takes the issue seriously, and that Libya's explanations to date are "not sufficient" for American officials to make a judgment on the matter.

Mr. Boucher said there is no question that U.S.-Libyan relations have advanced since its decision to scrap weapons of mass destruction. But that the issue of the alleged plot has "impacted" the speed of normalization and will continue to do so until it is cleared up.

"We've made an awful lot of progress, and indeed we're doing things with Libya that we weren't doing a year or two ago," he noted. "Libya's decision to get rid of its weapons of mass destruction is major step forward for Libya's role in the international community and for our ability to do things with them. But there are many aspects to this growing relationship and some of them are certainly hampered by these reports and the fact we haven't gotten to the bottom of them yet."

The warming trend in bilateral relations began last year when Libya took responsibility and agreed to pay compensation for the 1988 bombing of a U.S. jetliner over Scotland that killed 270 people.

The United States has sent diplomats to Libya for the first time in more than two decades and has lifted a number of business restrictions against the North African state.

But full normalization is blocked by Libya's continued presence on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, which is related in part to questions stemming from the alleged conspiracy in Saudi Arabia.

In response to U.S. inquiries on the matter, Libya has told the United States that it does not support the use of violence to settle political differences between states.

Mr. Boucher said the issue came up as recently as two weeks ago in talks between a senior U.S. diplomat and Libyan officials in Rome, and said the United States continues to make clear to the Libyans that it expects them to abide by the stated commitment.

The spokesman said Libya has taken "significant steps" to repudiate past support for terrorism. But officials say that to remove Libya from the terrorism list, the Bush administration would have to certify to Congress that it has not been involved in any such activity for a sustained period, something it cannot do in the absence of a full resolution of the Saudi issue.

Mr. Boucher's remarks came after Saudi Arabia said last Wednesday it had withdrawn its ambassador from Tripoli and would expel the Libyan envoy in Riyadh over what it said was Libya's "atrocious" role in the alleged plot. Saudi Arabia, however, said it was not breaking relations with Libya.

In Afghanistan US planes again dropped leaflets in the border areas of Afghanistan in Nangarhar province announcing monetary reward for information that could lead to the capture of 14 al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders and military commanders.

The leaflets were dropped in Mohmand Darra, Achin, Shinwar and other districts bordering Pakistan. Some of the leaflets reportedly drifted to the Tirah valley in Pakistan's Khyber tribal agency. Those who saw the leaflets said the pictures of the wanted men were in colour unlike the previous posters, which were in black and white.

Also, the US troops have displayed big posters of four wanted al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders on a roadside board around 10 kms from Torkham on the Torkham-Jalalabad road. The colour posters contain pictures of al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Lais al-Libbi and Taliban military commander Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani. The substantial monetary reward offered by the US for the capture of the four men has also been displayed on the notice board.

An U.S. Army spokesman said four military bases the United States is building in Afghanistan will only be used by the Afghan National Army, denying that a U.S. base was being constructed close to border with Iran.

There has long been speculation that the United States would seek base rights to station forces in the strategically placed Central Asian country even after the three-year-old war on terror is won.

That speculation was further fueled by Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Ambassador to Kabul, telling reporters in Washington that foreign troops could stay in Afghanistan indefinitely, just as they have done in Europe and East Asia.

"The question is...whether there will be some...residual force staying there for the long term in terms of security relations with Afghanistan," Khalilzad said.

At a news conference in Kabul, army spokesman Major Mark McCann was asked whether it was true that the U.S. military was building a base in the western province of Herat, neighboring Iran.

"We are building a base in Herat. It is true," McCann said, adding that it is one of fours base being built.

"These bases are not for U.S. use, these are bases being built for the Afghan National Army."

The others are in the southern province of Kandahar, the southeast city of Gardez in Paktia province, and Mazar-i-Sharif, the northern city controlling the main route to Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbor, Uzbekistan.

McCann said the Army Corp of Engineers was constructing the bases, which would be designed to accommodate 4,000 Afghan troops.

In Islamabad Pakistan and Russia have agreed on joint efforts to strengthen regional stability and peace, elimination of terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation.

After the two-day deliberations, the Pak-Russian Defence Consultative Group in a joint declaration announced that the two foreign offices and external affairs ministers would continue their contact to enhance diplomatic ties.

Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tariq Osman Hyder headed Pakistan's delegation, while Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak led the Russian side in the talks. The two countries also decided to boost cooperation in defence, economics and other sectors.

Relations between the two countries saw a boost after the recent meetings between President Pervez Musharraf and his Russian counterpart Viladimir Putin. "They have a good chemistry and these meetings where both sides are reviewing important matters will continue in the future," said the official.

Pakistan says that Russia is a very important country besides the fact that in its own right it is a nuclear state and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. "We did not discuss such strategic issues before 9/11, but today we are coordinating and cooperating with Moscow in the UN General Assembly as a non permanent member of the Security Council. They realise that Pakistan is also one of the seven nuclear states and they need to continue this dialogue with us. We in this consultative group meetings are trying to understand each other's perspective," added the official.

When questioned if there were any disagreements on the views of both sides on these strategic issues, he said there was no disagreement and a considerable time was spent in reviewing these matters.

Moscow and Islamabad are also coordinating on several new phenomena that have risen after the incident of 9/11 such as proliferation, security initiatives and maritime security.

As far as terrorism is concerned both countries have the same opinion. No longer do Chechen fighters find safe sanctuaries inside Pakistan as can be seen in Wana where they are being hunted down.

Sergey Kislyak expressed the hope that the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan would lead to a resolution of all outstanding disputes.