Last week the BBC reported that the European Union is demanding democracy in the Kingdom. A visiting EU delegation had called on Riyadh to establish democratic institutions and to make sure it respects human rights. A member of the delegation added that economic and social development in the country would have to lead to democratic reforms. Saleh ibn Humaid, the president of the Shoura, gave the European delegation a detailed explanation of the Kingdom’s system of government, but the delegation was unimpressed.
It is clear from these events that there are many outside the Kingdom who are monitoring developments here carefully and are looking, as we are, for explanations for the growing violence. As a result there is a great deal of pressure on this country to introduce a process of democratic reform.
But democratic reform must not be seen to come from outside. It has to come from within the Kingdom. This is a priority if we are to take some of the pressure off our citizens, especially given the wave of violence that has been rocking Saudi Arabia. The violence is not a liberation movement because there is no occupation like in Afghanistan, Iraq or Palestine. Rather, the violence is borne out of two forces, the desire to retaliate and the desire to protest. Democratic dialogue could eradicate it.
Some of those who turn to violence believe they are retaliating because their rights have been violated, and they see no other way but to resort to terror. Protest alone, they believe, would not be enough because their voice would be drowned out.
Merely condemning terrorist attacks, issuing fatwas forbidding them and rallying people against terrorists and their sympathizers and calling them outlaws is not enough. If reforms are delayed and open dialogue is stalled, that sends a negative signal and could lead to more violence. We should not be afraid of democratic reform. We should not reject it simply because the West has suggested it. At the end of the day, reform will be on our side. It will allow us to hear what others have to say, and to judge whether what they believe is right or wrong. And if it is wrong, then we will be in a position to answer them in a rational debate, and if it is right, then we will have the opportunity to listen and learn.
- Arab News Local Press 6 September 2003
