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ARABIC MEDIA ROUNDUP – 27 OCTOBER 2002

Al-Hayyat Al-Jadida – daily

Saudi Prince Turki Al-Fai’sal: We condemn attacks on innocent civilians, whatever the reason may be.

Prince Turki Al-Fai’sal, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, believes Al-Qaeda fighters are still capable of operating despite the severe blow dealt to their organization in Afghanistan. The Prince emphasized that Saudi Arabia condemns any attack on innocent civilians, whatever the target is.

The former commander of Saudi Arabian military intelligence spoke yesterday with the Al-Hayyat correspondent on completion of his visit to Russia where he participated in a forum dealing with Saudi-Russian relations. The forum was organized to mark 70 years since King Faisal visited Moscow.

Al-Hayyat asked Turki Al-Fai’sal about the truthfulness of the claims that Al-Qaeda is responsible for the recent attacks in Indonesia, the Philippines and possibly even Russia. Al-Faisal answered that Al-Qaeda, under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden, has proved its “ability to undertake destructive and criminal acts.” He added that Al-Qaeda received a “very harsh blow which scattered the parent organization in Afghanistan, but they still have activists in other countries who are able to act without any moral qualms”.

He claims to have met Bin Laden four times in different circumstances, in Bishaur and Islamabad, during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Al-Fai’sal met with Bin Laden for the fifth time “in my office in Jiddah”. There, Bin Laden suggested bringing over ‘mujahadiin’ under his control to act against the Marxist government in South Yemen. His suggestion was categorically turned down. In answer to the question why Saudi Arabia does not condemn the attacks against it in the U.S. press, he responded, “there are those that attack us, but the leadership of the Kingdom does not relish assaulting others. Rather, it strives towards dialogue and mutual accord.” He argued that the blame assigned to the Saudis for sending money to help the Chechens is neither based on truth nor provable. He stressed Saudi Arabia’s position supporting the territorial integrity of Russia and opposing “any incursions into Russia.” In reference to those trying to jeopardize relations between the international community and the Arab world, especially the superpowers, he said, “it is worth checking Israel first.”

Al-Fai’sal opined that restarting the weapons inspections, just as the UN is demanding, “would pull the carpet” from those calling for an attack on Iraq.

A-sharq Al-Awsat – daily

Kuwait announced that one quarter of its territory is a closed militarized zone.

According to the newspaper A-sharq Al-Awsat, the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry announced October 26, that starting from next Saturday civilians will not be allowed to enter military zones and the areas around them. A defense source who spoke to the A-sharq Al-Awsat correspondent linked these new measures with joint training that the Kuwaiti army has been undertaking with “friendly forces”, which have been stepped up after the armed attack on the island of Filka, carried out by two Kuwaiti citizens affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The attack resulted in the death of an American soldier with another injured.

The head of the Morale Guidance and Public Relations wing of the Kuwaiti army, General Ahmad A-Rahman, made clear in a press conference yesterday that the Ministry of Defense will close the north-western region of the country “because of continued joint military training between Kuwaiti and friendly forces in this area and because of overriding security concerns in the region.” The General went on to say that in his opinion there is no “connection between these activities and the general situation in the region” – in connection to the anticipated war with Iraq.

The Al-Hayyat daily added that the north-western territory – mainly the border with Iraq – is closed to civilians. During the course of the past year, British ‘Tornado’ fighter planes have been training in air force bases situated in this area, as well as American ‘Apache’ planes. This is after the British frigate, ‘Kinberland’, reached Kuwaiti shores. The navy commander, Iyyan Qurdur, said that the operations are keeping tabs on Al-Qaeda and Taliban activists fleeing to Iran and other states in the Gulf, and have proved themselves to be efficient and successful. They have led to a number of activists linked to these terror groups being caught.