JEDDAH, 10 April 2007 — The Council of Ministers yesterday urged the media and cultural agencies to play a greater role in the Kingdom’s ongoing campaign to root out terrorism and terrorist ideology. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also set up two panels in Jeddah and Dammam to settle conflicts and deal with violations involving insurance companies.
“The media and cultural agencies must do more in confronting the phenomenon of terrorism, by rooting out terrorist ideology and addressing social and international factors that promote terrorism,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the Cabinet as saying. The council made the comment while praising Saudi security forces for killing Waleed ibn Mutlaq Al-Radadi, who was on a list of the 36 most-wanted terrorists.
The Cabinet commended the Kingdom’s security forces for containing terrorism and efficient handling of terrorists. It reiterated the government’s call to militants to surrender themselves to security authorities and change their ways. “Efforts have been made to provide counseling to those who were detained (for their involvement in terrorist operations),” the Cabinet statement said, adding that decisions would be taken concerning them on the basis of Shariah law.
The Cabinet also underscored the cohesion and unity displayed by Saudi society in confronting terrorism and trying to eradicate the phenomenon from the country.
In a recent statement, Interior Minister Prince Naif said terrorists were receiving support from within and outside Saudi Arabia. “These people are receiving support, especially from abroad in addition to support from inside, in terms of finance and religious rulings,” SPA quoted him as saying.
Prince Naif revealed that Shariah courts had tried some militants who had been involved in terrorist activities inside the Kingdom during the past three years. “We assign experienced full-time judges to try militants and give them the punishment they deserve.” He stressed the need for drying up the militants’ financial sources.
The Cabinet meeting licensed Jubail Water & Electricity Company and passed the final accounts of Electricity Regulating Authority for four years from 1422H to 1425H.
Speaking about other decisions taken by the Cabinet, Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the foreign minister has been authorized to sign protocols for changing the general agreement with Romania for cooperation in economic, commercial, investment, scientific, technical, cultural, youth welfare and sports fields.
It also assigned the higher education minister to hold talks with his Portuguese counterpart on reaching a memorandum of understanding for scientific and educational cooperation. The Cabinet approved an agreement with Malaysia for avoiding double taxation and preventing tax evasion and a similar accord with Greece on the avoidance of double taxation on revenue earnings from operating international flights.
The panel for settling insurance-related conflicts in Jeddah will include Muhammad Al-Othman (chairman), Abdullatif Basheikh and Abdul Hadi Al-Ghamdi (members). The Dammam panel comprises Abdullah Al-Harbi (chairman) and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi and Alawi Al-Hashim (members). The Cabinet appointed Hassan Al-Attas, director general of technical administration at Saudi Fund for Development; Saad Abu Milha, director general of the Civil Service Ministry’s office in the Asir region; and Abdul Aziz Al-Abdul Jabbar, director general of Roads & Transport in the Riyadh region.
