Javid Hassan, Arab News

RIYADH, 13 April 2004 — A Republican Congressman has paid tributes to the Kingdom for putting in place political reforms that go a long way in liberalizing the government.

“Certainly, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has been active in pursuing reforms and in liberalizing the government. Now the Shoura Council originates legislation. It no longer has to originate from the king. These reforms are very helpful in a participatory form of government,” Congressman Darrell Issa of California’s 49th District, told Arab News in a special interview.

An Arab-American who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Issa met with Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, for talks on security and regional issues.

He also called on Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi with whom he discussed the US energy needs and the escalating oil prices. Later, he left for Dhahran en route to Palestine for talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Issa said the only way for the Palestinians was to offer passive resistance in the face of Israeli violence. “The Palestinians are the occupied people. If their goal is to be reached, they must learn to endure without engaging in violence. They can resist passively. They can refuse to work in many ways. But they have to end violent resistance if we have to restart the peace process,” he said, commending India’s great leader Gandhi who forced the British out through nonviolence.

Referring to the Kingdom’s political reform, Congressman Issa said: “The British have a queen. The Saudis have a king. That is not American democracy. But it is a system that the Saudis are comfortable with on which they build a system of representation to pass laws. Ultimately, that is a reform that we promote. They represent what is right for their people.”

Referring to his meeting with Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, Issa said he discussed both regional and local security issues.

“I believe this is a stable government with affectionate people. But there are active members of Al-Qaeda here and they would seek to have Saudi Arabia as a prize, if they could. At the same time, there is also a passage for people in and out of Saudi Arabia. Particularly, we talked about the difficulty in sealing the Yemen border, which is long and porous. But together we can cooperate in exchanging information, to maximize security for the Kingdom and the surrounding countries.”

Asked about the US media campaign against the Kingdom, Issa said: “If the people believe the media which is often mistaken, it can hurt public perception...In my meeting with Prince Sultan I expressed my understanding that although many of the terrorist criminals were Saudi by birth, they were German by recent history and radicalization. In Germany, too, they have the same problem and they have to make the same effort to prevent radical ideas from tainting the good name of Islam.”

On his meeting with Minister of Islamic Affairs Saleh Al-Asheikh, Issa said: “The minister is not being led or guided by us at all. On his own initiative, he has taken on a significant review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the correct use of funds — both foreign and domestic. The charity that helps to develop mosques around the world is recognized as somewhat abused. The minister’s goal is to do a better job of understanding how the money is spent so that these generous gifts are used to promote the good work that comes through Islam.”

Responding to a question on the 9/11 Commission, he said it is dwelling mainly on the mistakes that the whole world made prior to 9/11. The US government understood some of the domestic issues that we did not understand before 9/11. “For years I have gone to Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, among other countries. They now talk about how difficult it is to fight the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups that have become radicalized, because they did not get cooperation from the US and even US banks. Now we see it through a different eye — opening our bank accounts to the rest of the world. In many ways the US is joining the Arab world in the fight against terrorism.”

As for the release of Saudi prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, he said: “When we determine that they are no longer a threat or have no further information to give, they will be released.”

In response to a question on the excessive use of force by the US forces in Iraq, especially in dealing with the situation in Fallujah, the Congressman said: “The insurgents are trying to destabilize Iraq and prevent democracy. So force has to be met with force. The guidance that I have received in Washington and the guidance that I shall take back with me in Riyadh is that there should be reliance on other means instead of the use of force.”