RIYADH, 30 October — Interior Minister Prince Naif said yesterday Saudi Arabia hoped for a quick end to US-led military strikes on Afghanistan, because they were hurting civilians.
"In fact, no one wishes to see this war continue, because it is killing innocent people. We hope — God willing — it will come to an end," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the interior minister as saying.
Asked if Riyadh was making any effort to end the attacks before the holy month of Ramadan, which starts in mid-November, Prince Naif said:
"Saudi Arabia stands against terror and terrorists...and we say there must be active work to end terrorism," he said.
While reiterating the Kingdom’s support for the eradication of terrorism worldwide, Prince Naif called for an effective action to end the war. He was speaking to reporters before leaving for Bahrain to attend a Gulf interior ministers’ meeting.
Afghanistan’s ruling Taleban say hundreds of civilians had been killed in the three-week-old US strikes on the country.
Prince Naif said the fight against terrorism would top the agenda of the two-day GCC meeting in the Bahraini capital Manama. He stressed the need for a united GCC stand against terrorism.
Later addressing the Manama meeting, Prince Naif said the Gulf region was going through an extraordinary security situation.
He deplored a campaign by the Western media to link Islam and Muslims to terrorism. "The Arab Anti-Terror Accord clearly reflects the stand of Arab countries against terrorism," he pointed out.
"We will not sympathize with terrorists in any parts of the world at any situation," the prince said. He called for international cooperation to combat all forms of terrorism.
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Khalifa of Bahrain, who chaired the meeting, emphasized the need to move quickly to confront terrorist networks and freeze their financial sources. "The present international situation calls for strengthening our security cooperation and bolstering security measures," Al-Khalifa said.
GCC Secretary-General Jameel Al-Hujeilan said the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States demand greater care and vigilance security agencies.
"Fighting terrorism is a joint responsibility of both the state and citizens," he said. He called for rooting out the causes that lead to terrorist activities.
The GCC secretary-general condemned state-sponsored terrorism against the Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territories. He urged the international community to differentiate between the oppressor and oppressed.
Information cell: Prince Naif yesterday ordered setting up of an office at the Interior Ministry to answer inquiries from Saudi families about their relatives detained in the United States following the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington. Inquiries can be made at telephone No. 01-4014980 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. A fax machine will be attached to the telephone at other times.
