JEDDAH, 20 September 2005 — In an appeal on the occasion of the National Day on Sept. 23, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday urged suspected Al-Qaeda militants in the Kingdom to surrender and return to the right path.
“This cherished national occasion offers an opportunity for those affiliated to the deviant group to review their stand and surrender to security authorities,” he said while presiding over the Council of Ministers meeting at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.
Speaking about the National Day, he commended King Abdul Aziz for unifying the Kingdom and laying the foundation for modern Saudi Arabia. “Ever since its establishment, the Kingdom has followed Islam as a faith, law and a way of life. We will continue to follow its teachings in our domestic as well as external affairs,” he said and pledged more efforts to promote the Kingdom’s development and the welfare of its citizens.
King Abdullah said Saudi Arabia would go ahead with its development process with the support and hard work of its able citizens. He reaffirmed the Kingdom’s balanced foreign policy and its non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.
Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the Cabinet also discussed the Kingdom’s participation in the UN General Assembly meeting in New York and praised the efforts of Crown Prince Sultan at the international summit.
In his address to the General Assembly, Prince Sultan emphasized the importance of reforming the United Nations in order to strengthen its role in reinforcing world peace and stability. He also called for curbing the veto power of the Security Council’s permanent members.
The crown prince reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of all forms of terrorism and urged the General Assembly to set up a working team to study the recommendations of the counterterrorism conference held in Riyadh last February. The recommendations include the establishment of an international center to combat terrorism.
Saudi Arabia has launched a major campaign against Al-Qaeda terrorists who are blamed for a series of bombings and shootings throughout the country since May 2003. Earlier this month, security forces killed four militants who were on a list of 36 most-wanted terrorists as well as another wanted terror suspect following a three-day gunbattle in the eastern city of Dammam.
The five were apparently planning a major terrorist attack in the city as police seized a large cache of weapons including rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and live ammunition as well as two barrels of explosives, pipe bombs and communication devices.
Madani said the Cabinet authorized the chairman of the Presidency for Meteorology and Environment Protection to sign two memorandums of understanding with Egypt; one for the protection of the environment and another on meteorology.
