Did the king of Bahrain really visit Saudi Arabia twice — before and after last month’s summit of Gulf Cooperation Council leaders — for the sole purpose of “discussing the current developments in the region, headed by the Palestinian issue and the situation in Iraq, in addition to Arab, Islamic and world developments and the prospects of cooperation between the two sisterly countries in all areas”? Believe it or not, this is what our official Saudi media had to say by way of information for us, the public.
If you had asked any Saudi or Bahraini what the real purpose of the visit was, he or she would have quickly told you. The entire world is aware of the disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The disagreement arose from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Bahrain. Yet, our cliche-ridden official media keeps on churning out these outdated, meaningless phrases which give us absolutely no substantial information about why a foreign leader has visited the Kingdom.
No wonder these expressions open the door wide to rumors and guessing, providing fertile ground for both good and prejudiced analysts to weave tales and stories and produce findings and conclusions that may or may not reflect truth. If the public were given correct information, we would not find ourselves in the situation of wondering what is really going on.
I thought of these matters while reading excerpts from a speech by Crown Prince Abdullah who said: “We look for the best that suits our country. What is made by humans can be changed by humans. But what has been revealed and ordained by the Almighty will remain unchanged until the Day of Judgment. Anything is negotiable except our faith and our country’s unity, integrity and security.”
These words should serve as the platform from which all of us — people and government — should move forward. It is time the outdated and meaningless expressions that are no longer heeded by anyone gave way to something that really satisfies and convinces people.
The best way for achieving this would be to have an official Royal Palace spokesman. After a visit by a foreign leader or an important local development, he would step forward to tell Saudi citizens and others what had happened and who was involved.
No doubt some cynics will immediately ask: Can we really believe what the White House spokesman — or the Downing Street one or the Elysee Palace one — tells us? Of course not. The point is, however, that he is there, giving information and outlining his government’s position and even, on many occasions, answering questions from the press. Such a practice does not leave much room for rumor.
We need a similar well-qualified individual who is able to tell the public — and the world — what they want to know. Were we to establish this position, we would be doing our country a great service at a time when the media is itself a very powerful weapon.
