The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not take part in a war against Iraq, it was announced in Saudi Arabia last night.
Addressing the nation on Saudi Arabian television on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, said that the Kingdom’s armed forces would not step onto Iraqi territory.
The Crown Prince highlighted the inviolability of Iraq’s territorial integrity, independence, resources and internal security. He said that the Kingdom is against any military occupation of Iraq.
The Crown Prince said that Saudi Arabia expects the war to end as soon as the provisions of United Nations Security Council resolution 1441-to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction-are implemented. However, he said that if inappropriate action was taken, or the war was used for any purpose other than to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, Saudi Arabia would consider what action to take. Prince Abdullah said that the Kingdom expects serious endeavours to be made in the immediate future towards reaching a prompt settlement to the problem of Palestine, the core of conflict in the region. He reiterated that the Saudi people are primarily concerned with following the Islamic Shariah and observing their national unity.
Following is a translation of the text of the address to the nation on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard:
“I address you amidst very grave circumstances, when the entire region faces grave events, to tell you what your country has done to prevent war and what your country’s position will be if war broke out, God forbid.
Since the war loomed on the horizon several months ago, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has exerted all its efforts both individually and collectively with its Arab and Muslim brothers to reach a peaceful settlement.
We have pursued every possible avenue: the Security Council and the capitals of its permanent members, and Arab and Islamic meetings. We have introduced clear, fair and logical ideas which are based, on the one hand, on the need for Iraq’s full compliance with international resolutions and, on the other hand, on giving diplomatic efforts every opportunity to resolve the conflict peacefully. We have been motivated in our endeavours by our Arab and Islamic principles, and by our realization that war is lost by both the winner and loser: for when a bullet is fired, it does not distinguish between soldier and child.
We have constantly borne in mind that, in spite of the mistakes of the Iraqi government, the brotherly Iraqi people should not pay the price of war, and that the principle of keeping Iraq unified, free and independent this is non-negotiable.
But unfortunately, neither our efforts nor those of our peace-loving brothers and friends have achieved the desired results. Let me be candid: if it were not for the obvious weakness of the Arab world, we would have taken an effective, unified Arab stand that bypassed declarations and statements. To promote this objective, we introduced a serious initiative to reform the deteriorating Arab situation and find a new mechanism for Arab cooperation. But the escalating crisis disrupted discussion of this initiative, which is still on the agenda of the summit; we are looking forward to its discussion in the near future.
The countdown to war seems to have begun. Our efforts, which have so far focused on averting war, should now be taking a new direction: to spare our beloved country and our people the negative impact and ramifications of war; to protect the country and its sacred places, and to safeguard its integrity and safety. The government has taken the following decisions, which I am sure correlate with your principles, embody your commitment to Arab and Islamic values, and will receive your unanimous approval.
First - The Kingdom will under no circumstances participate in the war against brotherly Iraq. The Saudi armed forces will by no means cross one inch into Iraqi territories.
Second - We expect the war to end upon implementation of Security Council resolution 1441 to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. We categorically reject any infringement of Iraq’s territorial integrity, independence, wealth, internal security or it being subjected to military occupation. We have informed the U.S. Administration of this clear Saudi stance.
Third - The extraordinary circumstances that have for 12 years surrounded this crisis dictate that we do not engage in an uncalculated adventure that subjects our country’s security and people to danger. However, should events take a different course from that which we have stated, or should military activity surpass its declared goals, we will take a different stand.
Fourth - We expect that the coming period will witness an earnest, effective endeavour to reach a swift settlement of the Palestinian problem, based on the Arab peace initiative, namely land for peace. Of this stand, we informed the world community. In all our consultation with U.S. Administration, we clearly stressed that the Palestinian issue lies at the core of the solution for guaranteeing stability in the Middle East.
Dear Brothers, We have said on many occasions, and now we reiterate, that for the Saudi people, the Islamic faith and national unity are fundamentally beyond question. Current difficult circumstances dictate, more than ever, that we hold fast to our Islamic principles, national unity, developmental reformist course, and the maintenance of our achievements, against any internal or external violation.
Dear Nation, Preservation of the security of our country is the responsibility of us all. Every honest citizen is a partner in the country’s unity and stability. Therefore, all of us must undertake the responsibility of protecting our country against evildoers. This calls for joining our ranks, each in his own position. We must not allow intruders to meddle with our Islamic and Arab values, upon which our society, stability and security are based.
We pray to Almighty God to protect our dear homeland, honoured as it is with custody of the Two Holy Mosques, and with serving its Arab and Muslim brothers. We also pray that Almighty God may protect each and every one of our citizens, for He is our best protector and to His power we entrust our safety.”
Source: SPA
