SAUDI ARABIA: Subjects mourn the death of the country's crown prince Sultan bin AbdulAziz after decades of influential roles in the oil-rich kingdom

Record ID: 188798

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Subjects mourn the death of the country's crown prince Sultan bin AbdulAziz after decades of influential roles in the oil-rich kingdom
  • Date: 23rd October 2011
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (OCTOBER 22, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PRINCE SULTAN BIN ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY IN RIYADH LOGO OF PRINCE SULTAN UNIVERSITY SAUDI FLAGS IN UNIVERSITY GROUNDS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SECRETARY OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS IN PRINCE SULTAN UNIVERSITY, AHMED AL GHAMDI, SAYING: "I do not have the right word or expression (to describe how I feel), but everyone has been affected at the university (by the news of his death), and his highness had a particular standing at the university, may God have mercy on him." VARIOUS OF POSTER OF KING ABDULAZIZ BIN SAUD (FOUNDER OF KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA) AND PRESENT KING ABDULLAH AND DECEASED CROWN PRINCE SULTAN, POSTER READING IN ARABIC: "81 years of security, giving and flexibility." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING TELEVISION REPORTING PRINCE SULTAN'S DEATH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HUSAM AL-MEZANI, SAYING: "Frankly, we lost him, and everyone will miss him, old and young, poor and sick. He is a philanthropist and owner of hospitals and many charitable institutions. We will miss dearly." MORE OF SAUDIS WATCHING NEWS OF DEATH ON TELEVISION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ABDULLAH AL SHEHRI, SAYING: "We received the tragic news of the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. It's a great tragedy to the Saudi people and the Arab nation, he was the Sultan of charity, his (good) work cannot even be tallied." SAUDI SCHOOL WITH PICTURE OF ROYAL FAMILY WITH PRINCE SULTAN ON WALL VARIOUS OF ROYAL FAMILY PICTURES ON SCHOOL WALL READING IN ARABIC: "81 years of unity has infuriated the enemies." VARIOUS OF STREET SHOTS IN RIYADH
  • Embargoed: 7th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Royalty,Obituaries,Royalty
  • Reuters ID: LVA3G5TGR2HIJA1ETNMKQ0P13URZ
  • Story Text: Saudis voiced their grief on Saturday (October 22) hours after the country announced the kingdom's Crown Prince Sultan had died.
    Prince Sultan, whose age was officially given as 80 and who died in New York of colon cancer early on Saturday Saudi time, had been a central figure in Saudi decision-making since becoming defence minister in 1962 and was made crown prince in 2005.
    "I do not have the right word or expression (to describe how I feel), but everyone has been affected at the university (by the news of his death), and his highness had a particular standing at the university, may God have mercy on him," said Ahmed al-Ghamdi, the secretary of Academic affairs in Prince Sultan University.
    The death opens the way for Interior Minister and reputed conservative Prince Nayef to become the likely heir apparent of the world's top oil exporter.
    Saudi analysts predicted an orderly transition at a time when much of the rest of the Middle East is in turmoil as populations have risen up against their autocratic leaders.
    Posters across the capital Riyadh proudly display slogans championing the ruling family's eight decades in power.
    Sultan's health had declined in recent years and he spent long periods outside the kingdom for medical treatment. A 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks described him as "to all intents and purposes incapacitated".
    Saudi Husam al-Mezani paid his tributes to Prince Sultan after he watched the news break on a Saudi news channel.
    "Frankly, we lost him, and everyone will miss him, old and young, poor and sick. He is a philanthropist and owner of hospitals and many charitable institutions. We will miss dearly," he said.
    Another Saudi, Abdullah al-Shehri, had similar praise.
    "We received the tragic news of the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. It's a great tragedy to the Saudi people and the Arab nation, he was the Sultan of charity, his (good) work cannot even be tallied," he said.
    Saudi Arabia announced a long line of benefits for its citizens in the wake of the Arab Spring that has toppled three long-standing dictatorships to date.
    Saudi forces have warned Saudis of emulating the tide of unrest, helped crush a pro-democracy uprising led by Bahrain's Shi'ite majority and also cracked down on pro-democracy activists at home, especially in its oil-rich east.
    Funeral services for Sultan, who died on Friday (October 21) New York time, will be held on Tuesday (October 25) in Riyadh.
    Kuwait, where the ruling family has been allied to the al-Saud family for more than a century, said it would mark Sultan's death with three days of official mourning.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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