A panel of Saudi intellectuals, businessmen and foreign diplomats commended the Kingdom’s vigorous measures to fight terrorism and its participation in the international counter-terrorism cooperation and training programs.
They were speaking after reports of detention of nine Americans along with 33 suspects on terrorism charges in the Kingdom over the past week were published Sunday.
At the very outset, they congratulated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, minister of interior, for his unrelenting efforts to curb terrorism. In fact, the Kingdom’s efforts to counter extremism and terrorism is an exemplary model for the rest of the world, they observed. The plans and policies laid out by the crown prince for law enforcement agencies have shielded the country from major terror attacks.
Asked how Saudi Arabia has foiled several terror plots in the recent past, Fahd Al-Homoudi, president of the Riyadh-based Western Studies Institute, praised the role of the crown prince in combating terrorism locally and globally.
“Our institute has conducted a number of studies in collaboration with some US think-thanks on the role of the Kingdom in fighting terrorism … and these think-tanks highly acknowledged and appreciated the efforts made by Crown Prince Mohammed,” he added.
He said that “Crown Prince Mohammed’s approach of fighting terrorism with the help of counseling, rehabilitation, education, media awareness, in addition to taking strong stand with non-respondents has proved to be considerably effective in curbing terrorism activities in our country.”
“Without his relentless continuous efforts and effective approach, we would have seen much more of such heinous activities here,” added Al-Homoudi.
Abdulaziz Turkistani, former Saudi ambassador to Japan, called the crown prince “a prominent national hero in fighting terrorism.”
“To implement his soft approach to fight terrorism, he was behind the idea of establishing the Prince Mohammed Center for Counseling and Care,” said Turkistani, adding that the Kingdom was and still is one of the top nations in the world to fight terrorism not only because it was major victim of it but also because terrorism totally contradicts with principles of the religion of Islam.
He said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif has always been on the forefront of fighting terrorism in close cooperation with regional and international partners. “This is also evident from the fact that the crown prince himself has escaped four assassination attempts in the past,” said Saleh Al-Khail, a Saudi businessman.
In August 2009, a young Saudi militant with ties to Al-Qaeda sent word to Crown Prince Mohammed that he wanted to turn himself in. But once the militant got within a few feet of the crown prince, he detonated a bomb that he was carrying in a body cavity, recalled Al-Khail, while commending the counter-terrorism efforts of the crown prince. The explosion blew the attacker apart and lightly injured the crown prince.
Referring to the efforts of the crown prince, Bangladesh Ambassador Golam Moshi said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif has been doing an ‘excellent job’ in fighting terror. “Terrorism is a common enemy of both Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh,” he said, while pledging that his country would lend whatever assistance possible in the march to crush terror.
“But the Kingdom needs to stay vigilant and develop more comprehensive security plans to foil any attempt of terror attacks,” said a Western diplomat, who preferred not to be named. “Terrorism and violent extremism are a growing threat to the Kingdom, to the region and to the whole world,” said the diplomat, adding that the radicalization and recruitment of young men and women is a cause for great concern.(GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN & SAEED AL-KHOTANI)
Link: http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/873691
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