October 7, 2005

CROWN PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND AVIATION AND INSPECTOR GENERAL IN A WIDE RANGING INTERVIEW: THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES KING ABDULLAH IBN ABDUL AZIZ HAS IN HIS MIND MANY PLANS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY. THE ECONOMY IS PROSPERING BECAUSE OF HIGH OIL REVENUES AND ALSO BECAUSE THE OTHER ECONOMIC SECTORS OF THE KINGDOM ARE DOING WELL. COMBATING TERRORISM IS NO LONGER CONFINED TO THE GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES, BUT THE SAUDI PEOPLE HAVE ALSO BEEN CONTRIBUTING TO FIGHTING IT. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY TOOL TO PREVENT RISING OIL PRICES EXCEPT INCREASING PRODUCTION. THANKS TO ALMIGHTY ALLAH, WE HAVE NOW FINANCIAL SURPLUSES, AND THEY WILL BE SPENT IN BUILDING AND DEVELOPING THE HUMAN RESOURCES. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, has highlighted the Kingdom's promising economy, and said the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has in his mind so many plans for the development of the country. Prince Sultan said 'the Kingdom has nothing to be worried about, adding that 'combating terrorism is no longer confined to the governmental authorities, but the Saudi people have also been contributing to fighting it'. The Crown Prince underlined the crucial role being played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and said the Kingdom has been playing the role of the eldest brother in the GCC. Lauding the important role of the GCC, Prince Sultan said the march of the GCC should continue uninterrupted. Prince Sultan pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had done its best to prevent increase of oil prices through increase of oil production. Stressing the Kingdom's efforts to control skyrocketing oil prices, Prince Sultan said it had increased its production to 12 million bpd from 7 million bpd. "We don't have any tool to prevent rising oil prices except increasing production," he said. 'The surplus of the oil revenues will be exploited in the implementation of productive projects, and it will never go to channels of consumption', he noted. Citing the history of the GCC, Prince Sultan said the GCC was established in line with an agreement concluded by Late King Khalid Ibn Abdul Aziz and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Prince Sultan said the march of the GCC should continue uninterrupted. He said Saudi Arabia would continue to support other GCC member states as an elder brother. "We have responded favorably to their demands, especially on issues related to borders and territories," he explained. 'Despite the fact that about 25 years have elapsed since the establishment of the GCC, yet we can say there is a need to develop its regulations and law', he added. Prince Sultan pointed out that the rush of the Saudis to pledge allegiance to King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz provides a clear evidence for the existing close relations between the Saudi people and their leadership. 'Our doors will remain open for the citizens', he said noting that Islam is not only a worshipping religion, but it is also a way of life and a system of rule. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had spent a sum of money ranging between SR 90 to 100 billion on the Kuwait's liberation war, and added 'as the eldest brother in the GCC, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had had to shoulder its responsibility vis-à-vis the liberation of Kuwait from the yoke of occupation'. Prince Sultan highlighted Saudi Arabia's efforts to strengthen the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by making a number of concessions to the member states. 'Thanks to Almighty Allah, we have now financial surpluses, and they will be spent in building and developing the human resources', he said adding 'we will do our best to solve the problem of unemployment'. "We have only internal debts as the government took loans from banks and other financial institutions to spend on the war and development projects while the oil prices as well as the output were low. The debts did not come about because of any negligence," he stated. He noted that the rate of unemployment in the Kingdom is very low compared to other countries. Prince Sultan said about 500,000 Saudi women are working in the fields of teaching and nursing as well as other fields. 'Those who speak about the Saudi women should know the fact that honouring the Saudi women does not necessarily come through their employment in jobs that do not suit with the norms and traditions of the of the Saudi society', he said adding that 'anyway the Saudi society is developing and going ahead on the path of progress. Prince Sultan also disclosed plans for creating more job opportunities for Saudi women by allowing them to work two shifts. Reiterating that Islam is the religion of moderation, Prince Sultan said the deviant groups by perpetrating such heinous acts, they do not only oppose the Saudi regime, but they also oppose the Muslim scholars who are fully aware of the proper Islam. He lauded the significant role played by the security men, led by Interior Minister Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, to crush the terrorist cells. Prince Sultan said he met with the Former Pope in the Vatican and exchanged talks with him for about one hour. 'The Pope told that he used to pray for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, because the Kingdom is the cradle of Islam, and preservation of the security of the Kingdom actually means preservation of Islam and other heavenly religions', he elaborated. 'We are aware of the fact that Islam is the religion moderation, and it advocates dealing with members of other religions as the people of the Book and not as enemies', Prince Sultan said, and added 'so our religion is the religion of moderation and respect of other religions'. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, dismissed the terrorist threat to the Kingdom, which has been waging a 2-1/2-year war against local Al-Qaeda cells. In a wide-ranging interview with the Kuwait-based Al-Siyasa Arabic language daily, he said: As a government, we have nothing to worry about because the Saudi people have been contributing to fighting terrorism and terrorists. The Crown Prince said the country is forging ahead under the leadership of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who succeeded the late King Fahd three weeks ago. He said King Abdullah has the allegiance of the people and a wealth of experience serving under the reigns of kings Saud, Faisal, Khaled and Fahd, besides accomplishments of his own as well. He has forged friendship with most of the world's powerful countries and leaders. He loves his country and people. And he wraps himself in the cloak of piety and righteousness. What do you expect then from a man with these noble qualities? Prince Sultan said. The following are excerpts from the interview: Q: What is your assessment of the Saudi economy? A: The economy is prospering because of high oil revenues and also because the other economic sectors of the Kingdom are doing well. I expect the Kingdom to do well in all aspects of its economy. Q: Oil prices have surged and all indications are that the rise will continue. What are the plans for using this surplus? A: The Kingdom has spent between SR90-SR100 billion on the [1990-91] war to liberate Kuwait. Being the senior member in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia had to shoulder its responsibility of freeing Kuwait from the yoke of occupation. It was a time when oil prices were at their lowest and so the war caused us debts. Today, thank God, we have a financial surplus and this will be spent on training and building up human resourses. We will do all we can do to solve the unemployment problem. The rate of employment in the Kingdom is very low compared to other countries. "We have only internal debts as the government took loans from banks and other financial institutions to spend on the war and development projects while the oil prices as well as the output were low. The debts did not come about because of any negligence," he stated. Today, about 500,000 Saudi women are working in the fields of teaching, nursing and other areas. Those self-appointed advocates of Saudi women should realize that honoring Saudi women does not necessarily come through placing them in jobs that do not suit the norms and traditions of the conservative Saudi society. "We are going to introduce a two-shift system for women government employees. The morning shift will be up to Dhuhr (noon prayer) while the other will be from afternoon to evening. This will more than double the number of women workers," the Prince pointed out. All this regardless, Saudi society is developing and moving ahead On the course of progress. Q: What about the security situation? A: You must have heard what happened when King Abdullah was in Madina. The security men efficiently dealt with the terrorist cell. Had this happened in any other country there would have been a huge fuss and endless rumors. As a government, we have nothing to worry about because the Saudi people have been contributing to fighting terrorism and terrorists. These people [terrorists] are sick in mind. I cannot imagine how a person can ever think he will go to Paradise if he blows himself up. There is not any religion that advocates such nonsensical theories. Our country is the land of the Revelation and the cradle of Islam. Our religion advocates tolerance, flexibility and moderation. It does not advocate extremism and fundamentalism or killing innocent people in cold blood. No doubt the minds of the terrorists are contaminated with ideologies alien to Islam. This raises a crucial question: Are Allah s creatures that we are part of then wrong and these deviant terrorists correct? Insha Allah, the Kingdom is protected and the terrorists will hence never succeed in penetrating it. Q: What was the terrorists motive of taking their destructive acts to Madina in the presence of the King? A: These people are blinded and heartless, and with minds full of alien thoughts they carried out unlawful acts in the Prophet s city. Our righteous and pious King was there to worship Allah and seek Allah s forgiveness. We all saw how these deviants tried to spoil that atmosphere of purity by terrifying people and spreading terror and panic. Believe me, what happened in Madina harried not a single hair on the head of this man who was worshiping Allah and thanking the Almighty for the innumerable blessings and favors bestowed on this country. As you must have noticed, the terrorist fell one after the other. We are thankful to Allah that the terrorists fell dead and none of our brave security men may Allah protect them was hurt. I laud the security men led by Interior Minister Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz for their role in crushing and weeding out the terrorist cells. Speaking about his meeting in the Vatican with the former Pope, John Paul II, he said, "The Pope said he used to pray for Saudi Arabia because it was the cradle of Islam, and the preservation of its security means the preservation of Islam and other heavenly religions," he explained. "We are aware of the fact that Islam is the religion of moderation, and that it advocates dealing with followers of other faiths as the people of the Book and not as enemies," the prince said as he stressed Islam's respect for other religions. Islam is a religion of tolerance and moderation, I repeat. In this context, I m reminded of my meeting with the former Pope in the Vatican. He had requested the meeting for 15 minutes but, instead, it lasted for an hour because we discussed different issues. The Pope told me he used to pray for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for being the cradle of Islam. Thus, the security of the Kingdom means preservation of Islam and other heavenly religions. Islam advocates dealing with members of other religions as people of the Book, so we never deal with them as enemies. So, our religion respects other religions. Q: Your Highness, what do these terrorists want from the Kingdom since most of them have a sound social status and are financially capable? A: Their minds are stuffed with alien thoughts that have nothing to with our Faith. As I said earlier, a person would blow up himself in the false belief that he would be rewarded in the Hereafter. Tell me, what religion allows them to kill innocent children, women and elderly people? These are mentally sick people. What they are doing has nothing do with Islamic teachings. They are nothing but deviants who have strayed from the right path. Q: Your Highness, what is King Abdullah planning to do for his people? Prince Sultan noted King Abdullah's long-standing experience in the government dating from the time of King Saud and his strong friendship with heads of state of major countries. Prince Sultan pointed out that the Kingdom's reputation would strengthen its foreign relations. A: King Abdullah is in himself King Saud, Faisal, Khaled and Fahd, may Allah rest their souls in peace. He has witnessed all these reigns and passed through lots of experiments and experiences. He has his experiences of his own as well. He has forged friendship with most of the world s powerful countries and leaders. And he wraps himself in the cloak of piety and righteousness. He loves his country and people. What do you expect then from a man with these noble qualities? Prince Sultan pointed out that the rush of Saudis to pledge allegiance to King Abdullah reflected the close relations between the Saudi people and their leadership. "Our doors will remain open to the citizens," he said noting that Islam is both a way of life and a system of rule. The people's intense expression of their allegiance to him and the delegations that came from all the corners of the world have put great responsibilities on his shoulders. We pray to Allah to help him realize his aspirations for his country and his brothers in the Gulf states and Arab countries.