Suicide hit KSA ‘before 9/11’

Addressing the 71st UN General Assembly meeting on Wednesday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif said that the Kingdom was “one of the first” countries that suffered from terrorism, way before the deadly Sept. 11 attacks in New York in 2001, and that the Kingdom signed more than 11 international treaties to fight terrorism.

In partnership with the United States and Italy, Saudi Arabia heads a coalition that works to cut off financing for terrorist groups, he said, stressing that Saudi Arabia will always be at the forefront of countries fighting terrorism.
He said that in 1992, Saudi Arabia had confronted 100 terror operations, including 18 terrorist attacks “carried out by elements linked to regional countries.”
Saudi Arabia “was one of the first countries that denounced Sept. 11,” attacks which killed almost 3,000 people, he said, adding: “The security apparatus in Saudi Arabia has foiled 268 terrorist operations, including operations against friendly states such as the United States.”
He said Riyadh was “puzzled,” alongside the international community, over the Congress passing a 9/11 Bill that will allow victims’ families to sue the Kingdom since the majority of the 18 hijackers were Saudis.
He said that JASTA “constitutes a serious threat to sovereign rights, is considered a breach of principles established in international law, and creates a precedent, if pursued by other states, will lead to undermining the principles of diplomatic relations between states.”
He said combating terrorism should be a “joint international responsibility … we call for cooperation as per the international law and principles on which the UN was built, which equates the sovereignty of all nations.”
The crown prince also called on the international community to cooperate with the 40-member Islamic Military Alliance to fight terrorism, which was formed in late 2015.
He also urged the UN to include the military alliance under its “umbrella” after Saudi Arabia funneled $110 million into the alliance to beef it up.
He accused Iran of not offering “enough protection as per international agreements” after protesters stormed both the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad in January this year. The storming of the Saudi Embassy and consulate has led Riyadh to sever ties with Tehran soon after the incidents.
He said that the countries in the region are facing continuous challenges presented by Iran's support to terrorist groups in Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and other areas.
“The region is facing the serious danger of destabilization. Iran is increasingly using sectarianism, which is a grave concern in our Arab and Islamic world, as the outcome of this is deepening the conflicts and provoking sectarian extremism,” he said.
He added: "The government of Saudi Arabia calls upon Iran to desist from all policies of discrimination, racism and sectarianism, and to begin to build positive relations with its neighbors on the basis of the principles of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.”

The crown prince stressed that the Middle East should be free of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction, and appealed for an international conference to make this objective a reality in a clear message to Israel, which observers speculate has a 200-warhead stockpile.
He denounced the Israeli aggression against Palestinians and demanded a two-state solution with Jerusalem being the capital of Palestine.
“Achieving any progress in ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict seems impossible in the light of the continuation of the Israeli settlement policy, the tampering with the holy city of Jerusalem ruining the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of the city, and the heartless policy of repression practiced against the Palestinian people,” he said.
He urged a political solution for Syria and the implementation of Geneva I accord, which stipulates a transitional government.
He said: “The international community is still unable to take concerted decisions to save the Syrian people from the crimes that take place there — murders, destruction and displacements, all at the hands of Bashar Assad, adding: “These actions have resulted in the killing of more than half a million people, displaced more than 12 million Syrians and created the biggest humanitarian disaster in contemporary history.”
He said: “In the years of this bitter crisis, the Kingdom has exerted all possible efforts to contribute positively to finding a political solution that would see a political transition in Syria, in accordance with the Geneva 1; to support the Syrian moderate opposition, according to the Vienna Declaration; to implement the decision of the Security Council Resolution 2455.”
He added: “Saudi Arabia is keen to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in the neighboring countries through direct aid and to the campaigns that collect donations for the relief of the Syrian people.”
In Yemen, he reiterated the Saudi position over UN Resolution 2216 requiring the Iran-backed Houthi militias and their allies to withdraw from areas they occupied in 2014.
He said the Houthis continue to attack Saudi borders, using ballistic missiles.
“Saudi Arabia has contributed more than $3 billion to boost the Yemeni economy. However, the coup by the Houthi militias and their allies dashed Yemenis’ hopes for peace and threatened Yemen’s security and stability,” he explained.
“Despite repeated violations by the Houthi militias and supporters of Ali Abdullah Saleh, my country has worked relentlessly to rebuild confidence … by providing full support to the United Nations special envoy for Yemen (Isma’il Ould Cheikh Ahmed). This has paved the way for the start of political consultations in Kuwait, which had a response from the Yemeni government and the Houthis,” said the crown prince. “The intransigence of the latter and their allies is evident in their refusal to comply with the obligations they committed themselves to.”
He said: “At the humanitarian level, the Kingdom has been one of the biggest supporters of humanitarian operations in Yemen. Since 2015, the total amount of humanitarian aid provided to Yemen has exceeded $470 million. It should be noted that the distribution of humanitarian assistance has reached all parts of Yemen, including areas under the control of the Houthis,” said the crown prince.
In a separate remark, the crown prince rejected the misuse of the freedom of expression against religions.
He said: “The type and scale of the challenges we confront require us to work hard toward the reform of the United Nations system, increase the effectiveness of the Security Council, and revitalize the role of the General Assembly and all the relevant bodies of the United Nations.”

Source: Arab News