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Arabia

S. Arabia asks Russia to stop supplying Assad with arms

2015-03-30

[AA.TR] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal on Sunday called on Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... -- a key ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... -- to follow through with his own letter to Arab leaders in which he welcomed a swift settlement for the Syrian crisis. "The Russian President speaks about Syria's atrocities as though [Moscow] was not an essential factor behind their occurrence," al-Faisal said. "[Moscow] supplies the Syrian regime with strategic weapons it uses in fighting its own people in violation of Russian laws which ban the sale of arms to countries that use them for offense rather than defense," he added following the Arab summit, which was held for two days in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. He said the Syrian regime had lost legitimacy. In a letter to the Arab summit, Putin said he backed peaceful settlements for conflicts in Middle East countries, including Syria. "We consider the soonest possible settlement of the crisis situations in Syria, Libya, and Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... on the basis of the principles of international law, by means of broad dialogue and search for national accord to be rather important," Putin said in the letter, which was read out during the summit by Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... chief Nabil al-Arabi. Al-Assad's fate in Syria's political future had been behind the collapse of the UN-backed Geneva talks between 2012 and 2014. The talks aimed at reaching a political settlement for the crisis in Syria.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

OIC censures Israel for 'war crimes' against Gaza

2014-08-13

[Iran Press TV] The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has decried the Israeli regime's "war crimes" against Paleostinians of the besieged Gazoo Strip. The 56-member group released a statement following a ministerial meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah, condemning, "in the liveliest terms," "the occupying force, for war crimes it doesn't stop committing in the Paleostinian territories." "Israel should immediately cease its aggression against the Paleostinian people and shoulder political and legal responsibility for war crimes," the OIC said. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said at the meeting that a peace deal with Paleostinians was the only way for Tel Aviv to survive. The OIC also called for a meeting of donors for the reconstruction of Gazoo, which has been torn apart by the Israeli regime's offensive.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Saudi FM Rejects Candidacy of Aoun, Fears 'Hidden Intentions'

2014-05-21

[AnNahar] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... has reportedly rejected the nomination of Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... for the presidency, expressing fear over his "hidden intentions." Informed Lebanese sources told As Safir newspaper published on Tuesday that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal informed local and foreign officials that he refuses to adopt the candidacy of Aoun. "We cannot forget his history... A consensual character cannot be made in one day," sources quoted al-Faisal as saying. He voiced concern over Aoun's "hidden intentions regarding the Lebanese national pact if he was elected as a head of state," stressing that a consensual president shouldn't be affiliated in either the March 8 or 14 alliances. Aoun continuously said that he will not announce his candidacy for the presidency if there was no political consensus on him. Sources, however, told the daily that al-Faisal's stance doesn't necessarily reflect the kingdom's stand as Saudi Arabia welcomes the rapprochement between al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... leader Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. and Aoun. For his part, Saudi Ambassador to Leb Ali Awadh Asiri said in comments published in al-Liwaa that the "kingdom doesn't interfere in a Lebanese local affair." "The Lebanese should act and we hope that a consensual president, who adopts the Baabda declaration and dissociation policy, would be elected." The diplomat continuously denied that his country is intervening in local Lebanese affairs, ruling out any contacts between Riyadh and Hariri regarding the presidential poll.

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Arabia

Analysts Say Gulf Deal Leaves the Ball in Qatar's Court

2014-04-19

[AnNahar] Wealthy Gulf Arab states have reached a "vague" compromise to thaw tensions over the Moslem Brüderbund with Qatar which has yet to prove its good intentions, analysts say. Thursday's deal between the six Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers did not, however, mention the return of Saudi, Emirati, and Bahraini ambassadors withdrawn from Doha in an unprecedented move on March 5. "The ball is now in Qatar's camp," Saudi former diplomat Abdullah al-Shammari told Agence La Belle France Presse. Qatar is accused of supporting the Moslem Brüderbund, but Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and other Gulf monarchies have long been hostile to the Islamist movement. They fear that its brand of grass-roots activism and political Islam could undermine their own authority. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain had publicly accused Qatar of meddling in their internal affairs, a charge Doha dismissed. After Kuwaiti mediation, Thursday's extraordinary meeting in Riyadh ended with the GCC ministers agreeing that the policies of member states should not undermine the "interests, security and stability" of each other, a statement said. Nor should they impinge on the "illusory sovereignty" of another member. The statement, described by Emirati political science professor Abdulkhaleq Abdulla as "vague and indecisive" despite "reflecting reconciliation", did not name Qatar or elaborate on the deal. "The Qataris asked that the statement remain general and not directed towards them," he said. But "despite the vagueness in the statement's wording, Doha knows well the demands of the three countries," said Shammari, calling the agreement "a first step towards easing tensions". The three monarchies said in March that Doha had failed to comply with a non-interference commitment by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. During a tripartite meeting in Riyadh in November, Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah sought to ease tensions between King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah ... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old... and Tamim. On Thursday, the foreign ministers agreed on an "implementation mechanism" to the November agreement in a meeting described by participants as "calm" in contrast to a reportedly "stormy" March 4 summit. Abdulla said Qatar has already implemented part of the deal by asking several Emirati and Saudi Moslem Brüderbund opposition figures in Doha to leave, and will soon expel more foreign Islamists. Another bone of contention is influential Doha-based satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... , seen by critics as pro-Moslem Brüderbund which Saudi Arabia has designated a "terrorist" group. Qatar on Thursday agreed to tone down Al-Jazeera but "this will be gradual", Abdulla said. The Saudis had also demanded that Qatar end its alleged support for Yemen's Shiite Houthis along the kingdom's southern border. "We are yet to see" if Qatar will implement this part of the agreement, Abdulla said. Mohammad al-Musfer, political science professor at the University of Qatar, insists that Doha's "foreign policy will not change, regardless of the circumstances". He said Thursday's accord does not "demand concessions on the policies member states are committed to, based on the principle of illusory sovereignty". Musfer said Qatar agreed to the "wording" of the deal, but not "on the core matters". "Any GCC member has the right to host whoever it pleases in its territories as long as this figure does not harm anyone," he said. On March 18, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal warned there will be rapprochement between Riyadh and Doha only when Qatar modifies its policies. His counterpart Khalid al-Attiya defended Qatar's independent foreign policy, saying it "provides a forum for all those who do not belong to any bloc to come and exchange their views." But Attiya also said last month that this does not mean that Doha agrees with them. A Gulf official, requesting anonymity, told AFP that the envoys of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will not return to Doha until Qatar demonstrates its good intentions. According to Abdulla, and despite Kuwaiti certainty, "there is doubt in the UAE and Saudi Arabia" that Qatar will keep its promises.

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Arabia

Saudi Demands Qatar Shut down Al-Jazeera

2014-03-15

[An Nahar] recent meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a source close to someone who attended the talks told AFP Friday. Riyadh demanded the closure of the pan-Arab broadcaster as well as the Brookings Doha Center and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, the source said on condition of anonymity. After the reportedly heated March 5 GCC meeting, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors from fellow member Qatar, which they accuse of interfering in their internal affairs and supporting the Moslem Brüderbund. The source said Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal had demanded three things of Doha -- "to close the (Qatari-owned) Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... network, which stirs sedition; close the research centers in Doha, and turn over all outlaws" on its territory. Doha's foreign minister replied that the demand constituted "interference in Qatar's internal affairs," the same source said. Gulf officials do not usually comment on closed-door meetings. Qatar is seen as a supporter of the Moslem Brüderbund and its affiliates across the region, which are banned in most Gulf states. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies have long been hostile toward the Brotherhood, fearing that its brand of grass-roots activism and political Islam could undermine their authority. Saudi Arabia and the other two states accused Doha of giving refuge to opposition figures and of even giving some of them citizenship. Critics have long accused the influential pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera of biased coverage in favor of the Brotherhood, and several of its journalists are on trial in Egypt for allegedly supporting the group. Most Gulf states hailed the Egyptian military's July overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... -- a former senior member of the Moslem Brüderbund -- and pledged billions in aid. Qatar, which had strongly supported him, has seen its influence in Cairo evaporate. The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.

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India-Pakistan

Saudi FM arrives amid speculations of Musharraf exit deal

2014-01-07

[DAWN] Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal was accorded a warm welcome when he arrived Monday on a two-day official visit to Pakistain for holding bilateral talks with Pak leadership. Never should have come home in the first place, Perv... He was received at the Noor Khan Airbase by Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Saudi Ambassador to Pakistain Dr Abdul Aziz Ibrahim al-Ghadeer and other high officials from the foreign office. Saud al-Faisal's visit has come amid speculation circling in the local media regarding a likely deal between Pak and Saudi government to provide General (retd) Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... a safe exit out of the country. The former military ruler is currently facing high treason charges for imposing a sate of emergency in Pakistain and dislodging judges of the superior courts in 2007.

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Iraq

Hashemi in Saudi Arabia

2012-04-05

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A Saudi Foreign Ministry official says Iraq’s fugitive vice president has arrived in the kingdom after a four-day official visit to neighboring Qatar. He's not going home any time soon. Might soon find him in Idi Amin's guest house... Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for Tariq al-Hashemi on terror charges and called on Qatar to extradite him so he can stand trial in Baghdad. Qatar refused the request. The Saudi official says al-Hashemi arrived in the country on Wednesday and is meeting with the kingdom’s Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the press. Al-Hashemi is the top Sunni official in Iraq’s Shia-dominated government. He has been taken refuge in the self-ruled Kurdish region in northern Iraq since the December arrest warrant.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syria says revolt over, but army still shooting

2012-04-01

That's a good time to shoot, when the other side has been crushed... BEIRUT - Syria says the year-old revolt to topple President Bashar al-Assad is over, but the army again shelled opposition areas on Saturday and rebels said they would not cease fire until tanks, artillery and heavy weapons are withdrawn. Washington and Gulf Arab states urged peace envoy Kofi Annan to set a timeline for "next steps" if there is no ceasefire, and Saudi Arabia repeated a call for rebels to be armed. Annan has said neither measure would be helpful. Certainly not to Pencilneck, and the whole goal of Kofi's mission is to protect Pencilneck. That's why Kofi is going through the UN; Russia and China ginned this mission up. The longer Kofi drags it on, the more time Pencilneck has to stomp the rebels without facing any consequences. The former U.N. chief's mission has brought no respite in the killings. By design. Syria also said it would keep its forces in cities to "maintain security" until it is safe to withdraw in line with the peace deal, which Assad has said he accepts. Annan's plan says the army must stop violence immediately and be the first to withdraw forces. "We cannot accept the presence of tanks and troops in armored vehicles among the people," a spokesman for Free Syrian Army commanders inside Syria said. "We don't have a problem with the ceasefire. As soon as they remove their armored vehicles, the Free Syrian Army will not fire a single shot," Lieutenant Colonel Qassim Saad al-Din told Reuters by telephone from Homs. A rebel officer in Damascus said separately: "When Assad's gangs stop the shelling and killing of civilians, then our leaders can issue an order to stop operations and we will commit to it to show our good intentions." Despite the violence, Damascus says it has the upper hand. "The battle to topple the state is over," Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad al-Makdissi told Syria TV late on Friday. "Our goal now is to ensure stability and create a perspective for reform and development in Syria while preventing others from sabotaging the path of reform." By reform, he means keeping Pencilneck in power. Assad's opponents have not yet formally accepted the plan. They were due to meet the foreign ministers of allied Western powers, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Sunday at a "Friends of Syria" conference in Turkey, which provides a safe haven for Syrian rebels. After Clinton met Gulf foreign ministers in Riyadh on Saturday, they said Annan should set a timeline for unspecified measures should his efforts fail to halt the bloodletting. A long timeline with lots of 'unspecified' measures... "Given the urgency of the joint envoy's mission, (U.S. and Gulf ministers) urged the joint envoy to determine a timeline for next steps if the killing continues," a statement said. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told a news conference with Clinton: "The arming of the opposition is a duty, I think, because it cannot defend itself except with weapons." So arm them. You don't need our permission, and you've got plenty of money. Assad has endorsed Annan's six-point peace plan, which has the U.N. Security Council's unanimous backing, but Western leaders say the 46-year-old Syrian leader has broken similar promises before and must be judged by actions not words. Of course he endorsed it. Russia and China wrote it. Syria's Makdissi said Annan, who met Assad in Damascus on March 10, had acknowledged the government's right to respond to armed violence during the ceasefire phase of the peace plan. "When security can be maintained for civilians, the army will leave, he said. "This is a Syrian matter." Thus justifying anything Pencilneck wishes to do. A sustained end to violence by all sides would be supervised by a U.N. team of around 250 monitors, diplomats said. And nothing shows a spine like a bunch of diplomats monitoring a ceasefire... Western diplomats say the key to any ceasefire deal lies in the sequencing of the army pullback and ending rebel attacks. They say the opposition won't feel safe negotiating before the army stops shooting, but also note it would be impractical to expect a complete government pullout before rebels respond. Western and Arab foreign ministers backing Syrians trying to topple Assad will seek clear endorsement of the Annan plan from the Syrian National Council (SNC), although they themselves doubt whether Assad will genuinely try to implement it. There is also little chance they will agree to arm rebels. To borrow from Rambo, if you don't arm the rebels, you aren't helping... If Assad fails to keep his word, Annan would have to decide whether to call time and tell the United Nations he has failed to make peace through a "Syrian-led process". The issue would then return to the U.N. Security Council, with increased pressure on Assad's allies Russia and China, which have endorsed Annan's mission, to get tough with Damascus. With a strongly-worded message, no doubt...

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Saudi: U.N. Veto on Syria Allowed 'Brutality' to Carry on

2012-03-11

[An Nahar] Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal on Saturday told his Arab and Russian counterparts that a Russian-Chinese veto of a U.N. resolution condemning Syria allowed the regime's "brutality" to continue. He sez that like he's surprised... The stand of "the countries that thwarted the U.N. Security Council resolution and voted against the resolution of the General Assembly on Syria gave the Syrian regime a license to extend its brutal practices against the Syrian people, without compassion or mercy," he said.

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Arabia

In face of Iran threat, Saudi Arabia mulls nuclear cooperation with Pakistan

2011-09-08

For a former high-level official in Israel's security services, the news this week was not upsetting - that Iran on its own had produced new, advanced nuclear centrifuges. According to a report of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has begun to install the centrifuges in its uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. But the high-level source noted that development and production of the new centrifuges began more than seven years ago. That does not speak of a great technological capability on Iran's part. Ouch. Isn't Russia doing a turn-key installation for them? Israeli intelligence, like its American counterpart, views 2014 or 2015 as the date when Iran will be able to build nuclear weapons, says the source - if it wants to and no one blocks it. In Soddy Arabia, in contrast, they are a bit more disturbed by the developments in Iran. An American Department of Energy delegation visited Riyad and met with Dr. Hashim Yamani, who heads the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy. The talks followed a memorandum of cooperation between the two countries that was signed in August 2008. Soddy Arabia wants to equip itself with nuclear reactors to generate electricity. The United States is interested in selling Riyad reactors for two reasons - fat contracts worth billions of dollars for the American nuclear energy industry and there's the somewhat covert aspect: Supplying the reactors allows Washington to keep close tabs on nuclear developments in Soddy Arabia. The American administration is concerned that with a nuclear program for civilian uses, Soddy Arabia would actually like to prepare the infrastructure so it could switch to producing nuclear weapons relatively quickly, should Iran possess such weapons. Using hired technicians, one assumes. The Saudi education system isn't geared toward producing scientists and technicians...and I have a hard time imagining any Saudi taking a job that might scramble his DNA even more than the scrambles he was born with. All sorts of interesting possibilities appear on the horizon under such conditions -- lots of well-educated Palestinians speak Hebrew, y'know. The French website Intelligence Online reports that the Saudi royal family has been divided over this issue for years. Its defense minister, Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, and the country's former intelligence chief, Turki Bin Faisal, favor the preparation of a secret nuclear program for military uses, in cooperation with a Sunni Mohammedan ally - Pakistain, which possesses dozens of atomic bombs. This would counterbalance Iran's secret military plans. Soddy Arabia reportedly funded Pakistain's nuclear weapons program We heard that, too. How odd. in return for Pakistain's promise to aid the monarchy in this area if need be. According to a 2004 report, the Saudi deputy defense minister visited the Pak nuclear center in Kahuta, which produces bombs. Intelligence Online says Pak nuclear scientists recently visited Soddy Arabia - as pilgrims to Mecca, who made use of their visit for a work meeting with, among others, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, the head of the National Security Council and former ambassador to the United States. Bandar is considered to be among those encouraging the nuclear connection with Pakistain to put his country on a secret path to nuclear weapons. To this end he visited Kazakhstan a few weeks ago and met with the directors of the state-owned company that produces uranium, Kazatomprom. Shh...it's a secret. In contrast to the hawks in Riyad, there is also a group, headed by Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal and Interior Minister Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, that opposes establishing a secret nuclear military program reliant on Pakistain and prefers to be defended against Iran under the American nuclear umbrella.

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Arabia

What a shame...but take heed!

2011-03-13

[Asharq al-Aswat] Sectarian festivities erupted between Sunni and Shiite students at a girls' school in Bahrain, and the images of terrified young students were extremely saddening. These festivities occurred against the backdrop of the division that is taking place in Bahrain under the pretext of the Shiite opposition calling for political reform. This was not just an emotional response on my part, for I felt extremely bitter upon seeing the tears of students no older than my own daughter, but also because is this the future that we want for our Gulf region? Despite the country's small size and capabilities, Bahrain was considered a bastion of enlightenment, and a pioneer in the fields of education and openness, however today this same country is reeling from sectarian tension! This is not the opinion of one analyst, but rather the truth on the ground, for this has reached the point that it is the Bahraini opposition itself that is calling for calm and warning those trying to incite sectarian festivities, and it is doing so after its demands reached the point of calls for a Republic of Bahrain. What is strange is that after all of this, it is the opposition itself that is warning against sectarianism, whilst their demands are fundamentally based upon a sectarian position. The reforms demanded by the opposition are based upon the proportion of Shiites in Bahrain, so what can be more sectarian than this? The Bahraini opposition are making a historic mistake, and here I must speak the truth even if this causes anger. Rushing when making critical decisions, such as those being faced by our region today, may result in dire consequences for the entire region and its people. There is more sectarian tension today in the Gulf region than at any time before, and this represents a grave threat to regional stability, and the achievements that we have made, whether these are Sunni or Shiite. If we are not rational [in dealing with these critical moments] then the coming days will indeed be extremely dangerous. It seems that even the Bahraini opposition itself has begun to sense this, and this can be seen in it calling -- in its last statement -- on the security apparatus "to assume its responsibilities in protecting individuals and regions." This appeal in itself is a paradox, for how can the Bahraini opposition call on the security apparatus to intervene today whilst also justifying their increasing demands upon the position taken by this same security apparatus at the beginning of the crisis? The irony here is that it is the Bahraini opposition itself that is making this appeal for security and protection from the security apparatus at the same time that we have heard a US State Department front man warning the Soddy Arabian security apparatus, and prior to this the Bahraini security apparatus, against intervening. The irony is that US army and National Guard units were mobilized and deployed to Los Angeles in 1992 to restore security in the wake of the LA riots which broke out after a jury issued a verdict of not guilty against 4 LA coppers over the assault of African American Rodney King. The LA riots, and the ensuing military intervention, resulted in 52 deaths and 2,392 people being injured. What is most astonishing however is that the US Ambassador to Yemen recently said "we don't believe that demonstrations are the place where Yemen's problems will be solved. We think the problems have to be resolved through this process of dialogue." The question that must be asked at this point is: isn't this precisely the same thing that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said? Must our region, which is threatened by sectarianism and tribalism, reach a point where it is the protestors themselves that have to ask to be rescued by the security apparatus, as has occurred in Bahrain? What I meant to say, particularly to the intellectuals, is that the reality of our Gulf region, including Soddy Arabia and Bahrain, is not the same as that of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen. It is our duty to protect our gains and to consider what is happening to ensure that what happened at the girls' school in Bahrain does not spread to our streets and result in us saying that "it is the slackness of the official authorities in this regard which is responsible for every drop of blood that has been shed", as the Bahraini opposition did in its statement yesterday.

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Arabia

Ben Ali barred from politics while in Saudi

2011-01-20

[Emirates 24/7] Ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been barred from any political activity relating to his country while he shelters in Soddy Arabia, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday. "This act (of sheltering Ben Ali) should not lead to any kind of activity in Tunisia from the kingdom... There are conditions, and no act in this regard will be allowed," Faisal told Saudi television. Soddy Arabia has kept a total blackout on Ben Ali's activities since he landed early on Saturday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah with six members of his family. In a palace statement, Soddy Arabia said Saturday the move was "out of concern for the exceptional circumstances facing the brotherly Tunisian people and in support of the security and stability of their country." Ben Ali decamped to Soddy Arabia in disgrace after 23 years of iron-fisted rule following a wave of protests in which dozens of people were killed. "We support the Tunisian people in reaching their goals," Faisal said in Wenesday's television interview, a transcript of which was published by state news agency SPA. He said the kingdom had agreed to receive Ben Ali in line with "an old tradition." "It is not the first time that the kingdom helps someone seeking protection... I do not believe that this affects the Tunisian people and their will, or that it represents an interference in internal affairs," the foreign minister added. Several other leaders who found refuge in Soddy Arabia in the past were taken under the same conditions. Until his death in 2003, Uganda's ex-president Idi Amin spent more than two decades in exile in the oil-rich kingdom, while being kept away from politics and the media.

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