JEDDAH, 28 June 2004 — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told a meeting of diplomats and community leaders here yesterday the government would do its utmost to make all foreigners feel safe in the country “as it is as important as the safety of the citizens.”
A number of ambassadors had requested the meeting in light of the recent highly publicized spate of attacks against Western expatriate workers in the Kingdom.
The meeting brought together Prince Saud, Interior Minister Prince Naif and senior diplomats and officials from 19 countries. It opened with Prince Saud conveying his condolences to the families of terror victims and reiterating the Kingdom’s “commitment to keeping foreigners safe, as their security is part of the security of the country as a whole,” he told reporters after the meeting.
This was consistent with both the religion and traditions of the Kingdom.
While the Kingdom accepted terrorism as a fact it must confront, Prince Saud said the nation was shocked by recent events. “These incidents are exceptional,” he said, “but we can bring them to a conclusion through the strict enforcement of security regulations and the cooperation of both citizens and the expatriate community.”
The recent successful strikes against terror cells by the security forces was evidence of this, he said.
The presumed leader of Al-Qaeda in the Kingdom, Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, was gunned down by security forces in Riyadh together with other members of his cell hours after they beheaded US hostage Paul M. Johnson.
The prince said a large group had now been eliminated and others were being pursued, resulting in the disintegration of their cells. Already, several planned terror operations had been foiled, some potentially more devastating than those that did take place.
Echoing a recent speech by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Prince Saud vowed the Kingdom would “deal with these people according to our traditions and values.”
Prince Saud said he was reassured by the general tenor of the meeting. “The majority of the questions from the expatriate community were how they can stay, not what reasons do they have to leave. This was to me very poignant,” he said afterward.
“They are as committed to fighting terrorism as the Saudi nationals or the Saudi government.”
He said it was clear to the meeting that there is no escape from terrorism. “They know it can only be faced, and that gives us further reason and urgency to deal with this scourge that has troubled this country and threatens the world,” he said.
The meeting focused on the spread of terror not only in Saudi Arabia but internationally. “You cannot get rid of terrorism unless you get rid of its infrastructure. This is true even in Western countries, and we ask Western countries to help us to do this,” the minister said.
Interior Minister Prince Naif recently announced that foreigners could carry guns. During the closed meeting, Prince Saud was asked twice whether this was to happen soon, according to sources.
He said foreigners as well as Saudi citizens were free to apply for gun licenses, but gave no definite information as to the likelihood of success. “All are allowed to carry weapons according to conditions applied in the Kingdom,” the sources quoted him as saying.
US Ambassador James C. Oberwetter said the matter needed more qualification. “My impression,” he said, “is that it will not be anytime soon.”
More transparency between the government and the expatriate communities topped the diplomats’ demands during the four-hour meeting, he said.
We want a better exchange of information between the Interior Ministry and the expat community,” he said. “We also want better training for the security forces and an improvement of checkpoints.” He added that there were also calls for Saudi Arabia to allow additional foreign forces to “train and mentor” the Kingdom’s security forces.
