JEDDAH, 10 March 2003 — Saudi Arabia has denied it has provided the Arar Airport near its border with Iraq as a base for US troops to launch airstrikes against Baghdad and said the closure of the facility to civilian traffic was for humanitarian reasons.
“Yes, we have closed the Arar Airport and moved air traffic to the nearby Jouf region. We will have technical assistance from the Americans” to deal with an expected influx of Iraqi refugees if a war breaks out, said Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
Addressing a press conference in Riyadh late on Saturday night, Prince Sultan reiterated the Kingdom’s opposition to war by saying “Riyadh is against the war whether with (UN Security Council) authorization or without it.”
Prince Sultan said there was no agreement with Washington for cooperation regarding the war.
“We have no agreement with the United States for US aircraft to use our air bases for engagement purposes,” he added.
The defense minister, however, admitted that “large numbers of aircraft and land troops” have gathered in the northern city of Tabuk, close to the border with Jordan, over fears that Israel may violate Saudi airspace.
During his wide-ranging press conference, Prince Sultan also supported domestic reforms and said that there were no churches in the Kingdom, denied the existence of internal problems and reiterated the country’s strong opposition to terrorism.
Asked whether Saudi Arabia had signed any secret agreement with the US to use the Kingdom’s bases, Prince Sultan said: “We did not sign any such agreement with the Americans. However, we have an agreement with UN Security Council for reconnaissance planes, observing the line 30-33 degrees between Iraq and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.”
Prince Sultan said the US troops had been deployed at Arar Airport for humanitarian operations.
“There are no missiles. All their work is for humanitarian purposes and this is being carried out in accordance with a Security Council resolution,” he said, adding that the command at the airport was in the hands of Saudis.
The minister said the Kingdom encountered a major refugee problem during the 1991 Gulf War after about 150,000 Iraqi refugees crossed into the Kingdom. More than 12 years after the Gulf War, about 5,000 Iraqi refugees still live at a camp in Rafha, about 300 km east of Arar.
“Arar has never been a military zone,” he added.
Prince Sultan said the Kingdom was ready to receive about 100,000 Iraqi refugees in case the war breaks out.
“We are ready even to receive 100,000. We will house them inside their country so they could be close to their homes and families until their return,” he said.
“We have studied steps in line with directives from King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah to meet this crisis if it takes place. So we have made the utmost effort with respect to arrangements for housing, provision of foodstuff, medicine and other utilities,” he explained.
Prince Sultan said the Arar Airport was opened to US troops to monitor the movement of Iraqi refugees. “We have created a force at Arar Airport because Saudi planes cannot fly inside Iraq.”
“We have closed the airport for the safety of the people of Arar,” Prince Sultan said. “We have used some kind of technical assistance from the Americans so we would not be caught unawares. The command at Arar Airport is Saudi and if there is one of our friends there, it is for humanitarian cooperation only,” he added.
Prince Sultan refuted allegations that there are churches at Prince Sultan Air Base in Alkharj. “We are not against religion. We say to Christians: ‘Worship or recite whatever you want, inside your homes.’ But there has never been and will never be a church here.”
He said Saudi Arabia, being the cradle of Islam, would maintain this firm stand at any cost.
“Our friends know the Kingdom and its friendship and sincerity. We do not care about skeptics at all,” he said, in reference to allegations made by Saudi opposition movements based overseas.
Asked how the Kingdom could protect itself from such rumors, Prince Sultan said: “Rumors are not from inside the Kingdom. We don’t have internal problems. But we have internal demands for reforms. We have a wise leadership which works day and night to bring about the country’s development.”
He added: “The Crown Prince has adopted reforms which are necessary for the development of this country in all its sectors.”
Prince Sultan expressed his hope that traders would not misuse the present circumstances to raise prices.
“In these pressing times, our traders are better than the state. They give the state everything they own and they fight high prices, corruption and cheating. However, the state is taking into account anything that might happen which might harm citizens.”
Replying to the question whether there was a joint exercise between American and Saudi forces in Tabuk, he said: “Tabuk is in a dangerous location and we should not forget that we have 100 percent enmity with Israel, which is trying its best to harm the Kingdom in these crucial circumstances. Therefore, we have moved the largest military fleet in the world that only exists in America — the largest aircraft, the most powerful air and land forces, to protect Tabuk and the Kingdom,” he said.
“But this does not mean that we are with the Americans or we think of going to war with Israel. We had exercises with the Americans, the British and the French and we are going to have them with every country that has advanced technology,” he added.
Asked how serious was the possibility of an Israeli attack on the Kingdom, Prince Sultan said: “We don’t want what happened to Iraq when the Israelis violated the Iraq airspace in the past to happen to us. However, our main task is to prevent Israelis from violating the airspace of the Kingdom or any Arab country.”
On the readiness of Saudi forces, the defense minister said all necessary preparations to defend the Kingdom had been made.
