May 19, 2006

THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES REVIEWS WITH THE ABU DHABI'S HEIR TO THE CROWN THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND BILATERAL COOPERATION. PRINCE NAIF IBN ABDUL AZIZ REVIEWS WITH THE AMBASSADOR OF THE SULTANATE OF OMAN ISSUES OF MUTUAL INTERESTS. PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL: THE US WILL RELEASE 16 SAUDI DETAINEES FROM GUANTANAMO. THE FOREIGN MINISTER ANNOUNCES THAT MEMBER STATES OF THE ARAB GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) HAVE INSTRUCTED OMAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET IRANIAN OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS THE NUCLEAR FILE. THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS A RESOLUTION PRESSING SYRIA TO ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND DELINEATE ITS BORDERS WITH LEBANON. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at his office at the royal court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh Sheikh General Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the heir apparent of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the UAE. At the outset of the meeting, the King welcomed Bin Zayed, wishing him good stay in the kingdom. On his part, Bin Zayed conveyed to the monarch the greetings of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. In turn, the King sent his greetings to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During the meeting, the overall situation and developments as well as aspects of cooperation between the two countries were reviewed. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud received at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh princes, ministers, senior officials and a group of citizens who came to greet him. Later, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques received delegations of citizens from a number of regions of the Kingdom. Among them, Abdul Aziz Ibn Sharaf Al Shambari confessed, in a speech before the king, that he was once a critic and speaking offensively about the rule and today he came to repent of what he has done against his religion, monarchy and people. He gave an account on the ill will of those who claim to be reformists. In fact, they confuse right with wrong and the public interest with the personal interest, using the innocent and simple people as tools to attack their targets to the extent that they developed to be an obstacle before any real reform or development and, moreover, conspired against their nation and people, he said. He described those who claim reforms as arrogants, liars and hypocrites. He said they could not perceive the strong link binding the nation and its leader the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and his Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz. Al Shambari called on the youths to remain committed to the faith of their religion, rule and people. We should not listen to confusing logic against the pillars of our being, our religion, leaders, religious scholars and values of our society, stated. He cautioned against rumours that serve the enemy. We have to be strong in support of our leaders, he said. He noted that the credibility, faithfulness and clemency enjoyed by the monarch will open the door wide for repenters to come back and ask forgiveness. To serve imprisonment without a specific accusation in my country is far better to me than the experience I had outside, he said without elaboration. Commenting on Al Shambari's revelations, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques thanked Almighty Allah that Al Shambari has repented his faults against his religion, leadership and people, forgiving him for his wrong doing. The King paid tribute to Al Shambari's decision to come out for right, justice and fairness and for the service of the religion and nation. He expressed hope that this youth (Al Shambari) will turn to be useful to his country and people. The audience was attended by Prince Fahd Ibn Mohammed Ibn Abdul Aziz, other princes, and senior protocol officials. On the other hand four consortia comprising Saudi and foreign companies have been qualified to present their offers to carry out the Kingdom's prestigious land bridge project, which links the country's east with its west by a railway line and brings about a total change in the region's shipping patterns. "The Supreme Economic Council (SEC), chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, has approved the technical report regarding qualification of the four consortia which have shown their interest in the land bridge project," the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) said in a statement. The four are led by Saudi Binladen Group, Bouygues, Mada Industrial and Commercial Investment Company, and Public Warehousing Company (PWC), the SRO statement said. They include a large number of contractors and companies specialized in railway industry in addition to prominent Saudi investors. The land bridge project involves construction of 950 km of new track between Riyadh and Jeddah and another 115-km line between Dammam and Jubail. It is the cornerstone of a massive multi-billion riyal railway expansion program and will be the first rail link between the Red Sea and the Gulf. The SEC approved the technical report after it was studied and endorsed by a high-level committee to oversee the railway expansion project. The report was prepared by a team comprising experts from SRO, its consultants, UBS and National Commercial Bank, and the French railway company, SNCFI. "The panel of experts reviewed the statements of qualification (SOQs) in accordance with the methods and standards that are followed internationally in dealing with such projects," the SRO said. The high-level supervisory committee set up by SEC includes top officials from the ministries of transport, finance, petroleum and mineral resources, and municipal and rural affairs, as well as SRO, customs department, Saudi Seaports Authority and state-owned Public Investment Fund. Transport Minister and Chairman of SRO Dr. Jabara Al-Seraisry said the SEC's approval would speed up implementation of the landmark project. He emphasized the significance of the landbridge, saying it would strengthen the Kingdom's position on the map of regional and international transport. He thanked King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan for their tremendous support for the railway expansion program. Khaled Alyahya, president of SRO and chairman of the supervisory committee, said he was happy at the progress of the land bridge project. "I hope the four consortia will make strong financial and technical offers," he said. The SEC's approval reflected its confidence in the measures taken by the committee and SRO to carry out the project," he added. Nine consortia including international companies from the United States, Britain, India, Germany, Russia, France, Canada, South Korea, Spain, Italy and China had presented their SOQs in September last year. They included a number of Saudi and international companies specialized in construction, shipping, investments, logistics and railways. The SEC approved implementation of the landbridge project with private sector participation about four years ago. The landbridge is designed for both passenger and cargo trains. It will boost the development of three main regions Riyadh, Makkah and Eastern Province that account for 70 percent of the Kingdom's population and economic activities. The Kingdom's railway expansion program includes the Makkah-Madinah Rail Link (MMRL) that will provide a safe, fast, reliable and comfortable mode of transport for Umrah and Haj pilgrims traveling between the two holy cities and Jeddah. SRO will hold a project day in Jeddah on May 23 for potential investors interested in the project. "The Makkah-Madinah Rail Link will comprise the construction of approximately 500 kilometers of new high-speed electrified railway line, equipped with a modern signaling and telecommunications system," the SRO said. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Giorgio Napolitano on the occasion of his election as Italy's president. In the cable, the King wished the Italian President and people well. On the other hand Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of Interior, received at his office in Riyadh the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom Saeed bin Ali bin Salim Al Kalbani. During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues of mutual concern. Minister of Interior Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz addressed a message of thanks to the Director of Um Al Qura university Dr Nasser Ibn Abdullah Al Saleh and to the the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj Research in Makkah after receiving the recommendations of the institute. Prince Naif is also chairman of the institute. In his remarks, Prince Naif noted that the Saudi leadership has made taking care of the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims a top priority, and that the Saudi governmental organizations have worked hard so that pilgrims can perform their rituals easily and in comfort. In Washington Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, currently on a visit to U.S.A., said that the United States of America will release 16 Saudi detainees from Guantanamo Bay during the next few days. In a press interview with U.S. media in Washington last Wednesday, he said that the Kingdom will interrogate those detainees upon arrival in the Kingdom, set free those whose charges are not proven and refers others to the judiciary authority. On Iran's nuclear file, he hoped that a diplomatic solution will be reached, noting that Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states will dispatch over the next few days Oman's foreign minister to meet Iranian officials to discuss the matter. He also hoped that Iran joins the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and GCC states to make the Middle East free from nuclear weapons. Prince Saud hoped that Iran plays a positive role in supporting Iraq's territorial integrity and stability. As regards the Palestinian issue, the Prince said that the Kingdom believes that the policy of suspending aid to Palestinians is wrong, promotes extremism and changes stands of a popular base supporting the peace process. In its recent meeting in Brussels, Belgium, the Middle East Peace Process Quartet has reached a mechanism to deliver aid to the Palestinians, he said and hoped that this mechanism will be effective and prompt in delivering the aid to the needy areas in the Palestinian territories. Prince Saud emphasized the importance of dialogue with the Palestinian government as the only possible way to convince it to change its position towards the peace process. He noted that there is a new start with the new government that should be exploited before it takes fixed positions that will be difficult to deal with. He also indicated that the Palestinian government has announced its readiness to commit to a cease fire for a long period as peace negotiations continue. Expressing concern over the plan announced by Israel for withdrawal from some Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Prince Saud stated that it only leads to detract attention from the Road Map peace plan and the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, then Crown Prince, in 2002 and later adopted by Beirut Arab Summit. He pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has no reservations on the resumption of diplomatic relations between the United States of America and Libya. On terrorism, Prince Saud called for the establishment of Counter-terrorism International Center to coordinate international efforts in combating terrorism. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, arrived in Washington today on an official visit to the United States of America during which he meets with U.S. senior officials. During his stay in Washington, Prince Saud will also lead the Saudi side to the second meeting of the Saudi U.S. Joint Committee for Strategic Dialogue which is slated to tackle a number of issues of mutual concern to the two countries. The Kingdom said that a man who was arrested last week for firing on guards at the US consulate in Jeddah appeared to be acting on his own and was not linked to any other group. An interior ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency identified the man as Saudi national Mohammed bin Abdul Razeq Saad Faydy Al-Ghamdi and said he had been a psychiatric patient. "It became clear from his medical file that he had been a patient at psychiatric clinics. Authorities could not find any evidence linking this incident to any other sides," the statement said. It added that investigations confirmed that a pistol found with 32-year-old Ghamdi was the one used in the shooting, in which none of the guard was hit. Last Friday, police chased and arrested the suspect after wounding him in a shootout when he fled from his car. In December 2004, Al-Qaeda militants stormed the US consulate compound in the Red Sea port city, killing five non-American consular staff. Four of the five attackers died in the attack and a fifth was wounded and arrested. An official source of the Ministry of Interior said that at 5:30 p.m. on Friday May 12, 2006, and while a car is passing close to the U.S. consulate in Jeddah province, somebody in the car fired at the consulate's guards. Chasing the car and exchanging fire with it, the Saudi security forces were able to damage it, the source said, adding that an armed person came out of the car and tried to take refuge at a nearby building where he was arrested after sustaining moderate injuries. He concluded that nobody was hurt in the accident. The official source at the Interior Ministry said the culprit is Mohammed bin Abdel-Raziq Saad Faidi Al-Ghamidi, 32, a Saudi national. He was carrying a pistol, the source said. "The criminal laboratory proved that the culprit had earlier used the same weapon in an aggression attempt against security men in Taif. According to the culprit's medical report, he had earlier reported to psychiatric clinics. So far it is not clear for the concerned authorities that the incident is linked with any other party," the official source added. In Sanaa Yemeni security forces captured suspected Al-Qaeda member, one of inmates who escaped from a detention facility of the secret service, security sources said. The defense ministry's SeptemberNet website quoted the sources as saying the security forces captured Ali Abdullah Al-Rimi, who was condemned for four years on terrorism chrages. Al-Rimi was captured in Ma'reb governorate, 180 kilometers East of Sanaa, after the security forces received information from the intelligence about his whereabout, said the sources. Al-Rimi is "one of the most dangerous of the 23 Al-Qaeda militants who escaped from the political security prison in Sanaa last February," they added. The militants escaped through a tunnel they dug between the prison and a nearby mosque. The tunnel is 44-meter long and three-meter deep. With Al-Rimi now under custody, the number of Al-Qaeda arrestees rises to nine. The government of Yemen set a bounty of USD 600,000 for information leading to the capture of those escaped. In New York the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution pressing Syria to establish diplomatic relations and delineate its border with Lebanon, which it said would be "a significant step" to asserting Lebanon's sovereignty and political independence. Resolution 1680, co-sponsored by the United States, France and Britain, was approved by a vote of 13-0 with Russia and China abstaining. They have argued that the resolution is not needed and would constitute U.N. interference in bilateral Lebanese-Syrian relations. The Security Council, "strongly encourages the government of Syria to respond positively to the request made by the government of Lebanon, in line with the agreements of the Lebanese national dialogue, to delineate their common border ... and to establish full diplomatic relations and representation." Syria strongly criticized the UNSC resolution number1680 as a violation of the international law and it aimed at internationalizing bilateral relations between Syria and Lebanon. Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem held a press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manoushahr Mottaki, who underlined his country's backing to strengthen the Syrian-Lebanese ties on the basis of the standing political will between the two countries. "The UNSC insertion to issue the resolution in this respect constitutes a violation of the international law," he said calling some member states to the UNSC to play their role and confront such resolutions that would in the end lead to weaken this institution. Al-Mouallem underlined for his part, that "he who stands behind this resolution wanted to internationalize bilateral relations between two sisterly and neighboring countries; in a way that complicates the situation," pointing out to many experiences in history which proved that and said " we believe the Syrian-Lebanese relations must emerge from the two sides will and from having their right of sovereignty and independence." Whether Syria will be committed to implement the resolution, al-Mouallem emphasized "Syria sticks to the international legitimacy while others are not but the Syrian national sovereignty and the free decision are priorities. Damascus' official reaction to the resolution came in the form of a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry which rejected the UN's "interference." "Resolution 1680 marks a new precedent concerning international relations in terms of interfering in countries' internal affairs and the bilateral relations between them," the statement said. The ministry added that the resolution - drafted by France, the United States and Britain - "constitutes uncalled for pressure and provocation that complicates the situation." The Arab League also criticized the resolution, complaining that it constituted interference in the sovereignty of the countries involved and their internal affairs. The league's undersecretary general for political affairs, Ahmad Ben Hala, said that he and his colleagues were also looking into reports about Washington's interference in relations between countries. In Baghdad Iraqi forces searched for a United Arab Emirates diplomat kidnapped in Baghdad A top official in the United Arab Emirates said the attack raised concerns about the country's widespread insecurity. Gunmen kidnapped Naji Rashid al-Nuaimi as he left the home of the United Arab Emirates' cultural affairs attache in Baghdad's Mansour district, said Interior Ministry police Col. Ali Rashid. In Egypt, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said the kidnapping of diplomats was only harming "Arab efforts to get Iraq out of its agony." Moussa directed the league's Baghdad office to help secure al-Nuaimi's release Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al-Atiyyah condemned the kidnapping of Naji Al-Nuaimi, the United Arab Emirates diplomat, in Baghdad. In a statement, Al Atiyyah called for the release of the diplomat and wished well for his bodyguard who was injured in the incident. Clashes broke out between the Lebanese Army and pro-Syrian Palestinian fighters near the Syrian border, wounding two people, and a soldier was detained for several hours, police said. The soldier, Khaled Ibrahim, was snatched and then freed by fighters of the Damascus-based group Fatah-Intifada, which is founded by a Palestinian militant known as Abu Mussa, they told AFP. Abu Fadi Hammad, the Lebanon representative of Abu Mussa's group, told AFP one fighter was wounded in the clashes and that the detained soldier had been handed back to the army. A senior army official said a soldier was also wounded in the fighting in Wadi Al-Asswad village of eastern Lebanon as troops and militants traded fire with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. The army, in a statement, said troops retaliated after coming under fire from "Palestinian elements" during a patrol near "a newly set up position." Soldiers later dismantled the post and confiscated equipment, it said. The statement did not mention the kidnapping but said one soldier was "gravely wounded" in the clashes. On Tuesday, Lebanese leaders held a new round of reconciliation talks which reached an agreement in April on a number of contentious issues, including the dismantling of Palestinian bases in Lebanon within six months.