AMMAN/BAHRAIN, 24 September 2004 — Saudi Arabia will host an international anti-terrorism conference in December, its ambassador to Jordan was reported to have said yesterday.
“We will host an international conference in December to discuss the issue of terrorism and ways of combating and uprooting this dangerous plague,” Abdelrahman Nasser Al-Ohali told the official PETRA agency in statements carried by the press.
The event will also look at “how this phenomenon spreads, its destructive repercussions on society and how to combat and eliminate it,” according to Ohali.
Saudi Arabia will invite government representatives from several countries to this “important event,” he continued, without giving further details or a specific date for the conference.
Saudi Arabia has cracked down on militants since a campaign of attacks mainly targeting foreigners began in May 2003, killing nearly 100 and injuring at least 200.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd in June offered an amnesty to suspected extremists who turned themselves in within a month, saying it was a last chance for members of the deviant group to mend their ways or face a merciless crackdown.
Meanwhile, the top Saudi diplomat in Bahrain said on the occasion of the Saudi National Day that Saudi Arabia has successfully contained terrorism, but it still has a long way to fight it ideologically.
Ambassador Dr. Abdullah Ibrahim El Kuwaiz also added that the Kingdom was pushing forward with its political and economical reforms agenda, citing the need to reform the society’s view toward women.
El Kuwaiz said that Saudi Arabia was able to contain the threat of terrorism in a record time compared to other countries but what remains is the fight to defeat it ideologically. “Terrorism is an international phenomena and it is not a problem that originated in or specific to the Kingdom,” he said.
“To eradicate it we need to defeat it ideologically and this requires the cooperation of regional and international powers.”
El Kuwaiz added that Saudi Arabia had taken all the necessary security measures to secure its borders, which it shares with 10 countries and considered one of the longest in the world, and to fight terrorism domestically.
“A high commission to fight terrorism had been created and a permanent committee had been set up to follow up the implementation of directives by the Security Council and to evaluate and follow up requests from other countries and international institutions to fight terrorism,” he said.
“The authorities also declared terrorism a crime and began teaching anti-terrorism courses at security and military colleges.”
Saudi authorities also upgraded the security apparatus to deal with the threat of terrorism and adopted strict measures on importation, sale, or acquisition of weapons and ammunitions, according to El Kuwaiz.
“A national media campaign was also launched to raise awareness among the public about the dangers of terrorism on the society,” he said.
El Kuwaiz said that the GCC countries were working closely to combat terrorism through intelligence sharing citing that one of the main objectives of the terrorist networks was to create a wedge between Saudi Arabia and the United States through the 9/11 attacks, before they started their campaign of terror inside the Kingdom.
El Kuwaiz also spoke about political reforms and the upcoming municipal elections indicating that the elections should not be burdened with heavy demands. “These elections should be considered an experiment and based on the results we should take steps to further reform them to meet the society’s needs,” he said.
El Kuwaiz also spoke about economic reforms in Saudi Arabia, the national debt, and the privatization efforts. “The Kingdom is pushing ahead with its economic plans to strengthen the economy, eradicate poverty, diversify economic resources, and creating new jobs,” he said. “The government is also continuing with its privatization plans in the electricity, communications, and industry sectors with a lot more room for further privatization to take place.”
