SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia expresses its sorrow after the death of Crown Prince Sultan, a 'fundamental' part of the country

Record ID: 188803

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia expresses its sorrow after the death of Crown Prince Sultan, a 'fundamental' part of the country
  • Date: 24th October 2011
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (OCTOBER 23, 2011) (REUTERS) NEWSPAPER SHOWING PICTURE OF DISABLED SAUDI BOY, ABDULLAH JREED, WATCHING NEWS OF DEATH OF PRINCE SULTAN WHO HAD STORY WITH THE PRINCE SIX YEARS AGO WHEN PRINCE HELPED HIM WITH HIS MEDICATION NEWSPAPER PICTURES OF THE PRINCE CARRYING ABDULLAH JREED CAPTION READING (Arabic): "The disabled child Abdullah Jareed, hugged by Prince Sultan 6 years ago."
  • Embargoed: 8th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Royalty,Obituaries,Royalty
  • Reuters ID: LVA672UVS36C82FCUN0BA7X0HMME
  • Story Text: Saudi Arabia mourned on Sunday (October 23) the death of Crown Prince Sultan, as King Abdullah prepared to nominate his new heir and choose a new occupant of the key defence minister's job.
    Prince Sultan, who had been heir to the Saudi king since 2006 and defence and aviation minister since 1962, died of colon cancer in New York on Saturday (October 22).
    Newspapers across the country were unequivocal in their praise for the Prince. One newspaper ran a headline that the Prince would: "remain in our minds and hearts."
    One carried a picture of a disabled Saudi boy, Abdullah Jreed, watching the news on a television. Jreed met Prince Sultan six years ago, when the Prince promised the child help with medical treatment in Germany, and promptly gave Jreed's father USD 50,000 in cash to help.
    In the capital Riyadh, local residents spoke kindly of the former Sultan.
    Standing near Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz street, Abdul Khaliq Al Ghamdi said that it was not merely Saudi Arabia who had lost a Prince.
    "The death of (Prince Sultan) is a loss not only for the Saudi people, but for the Arab and Islamic nation. May God have mercy on him. He was charitable wherever he went," he said.
    Despite being a prominent figure for so long in the Saudi establishment, Sultan remained popular across generations as well as nationalities.
    Egyptian boy Muhannad Husni expressed the importance of the Prince to the Arab world, and Saudi Arabia in particular.
    "He is the person who took the most decisions in the country. He was something fundamental in Saudi Arabia," he said.
    With Sultan's funeral scheduled for Tuesday (October 25) in Riyadh, the government is preparing for an influx of foreign dignitaries and leaders, reflecting Sultan's status as a major figure in Saudi foreign and defence policy over several decades.
    State-owned news channel Ekhbariya devoted most of its coverage on Sunday to the death, carrying a photograph of Sultan praying as it broadcast interviews with commentators and black-and-white footage of him inspecting Saudi troops in the 1960s.
    While most analysts expect the veteran Interior Minister Prince Nayef to become crown prince, there is less certainty about the defence role, a key post in a country that uses multi-billion dollar arms deals to cement relations with top allies.
    In making the appointments, King Abdullah must maintain a delicate balance of power in a royal family that has thousands of members, dozens of branches and dominates Saudi Arabia's government, armed forces and business.
    The changes to top Saudi personnel might prompt King Abdullah to undertake the first major government reshuffle of his reign, an event that has long prompted speculation.
    However, analysts said he might prefer to wait to avoid any perception that changes were being made under pressure.
    However, businesses and government buildings remained open in the absence of a formal mourning period, and only a few small state-run events, including exhibitions and a tourism festival, were cancelled.
    King Abdullah's appointments this week will determine the direction of Saudi Arabia for years, if not decades, to come as the world's top oil exporter prepares to tackle long-term internal and foreign problems.
    Unemployment is high, as the Saudi population is growing more quickly than suitable jobs are being created. Rising domestic energy consumption is reducing the amount of oil available for export while liberal and conservative Saudis support starkly different visions of development.
    Meanwhile, the Arab spring uprisings have destabilised neighbouring Bahrain and Yemen, feeding Saudi concerns that regional rival Iran might use the unrest to expand its influence across the Gulf.
    King Abdullah, who is thought to be in his late 80s, has now ruled Saudi Arabia for six years as king, but as de facto regent for another decade before that. His 16 years of rule have allowed him to put a stamp of cautious reform on the Middle East's largest economy.
    He has opened up business sectors that were off-bounds to private investors, liberalised Saudi capital markets, reduced the role of religion in education and pushed for some more rights for women.
    Prince Nayef and his younger full-brother, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, are around a decade younger than King Abdullah and the next possible candidate for king, Prince Muqrin, is a decade younger still.
    King Abdullah is likely to activate the Allegiance Council he set up in 2006 to regulate the kingdom's opaque system of succession.
    The council does not legally have to come into force until after Abdullah's death, but analysts in the kingdom say he is unlikely to bypass the body by simply appointing the new crown prince himself.
    The appointment of a new defence minister is important in ensuring continued balance between different wings of the family. The job also entails responsibility for major defence purchases that Riyadh has used to strengthen its relations with top allies including the United States, Britain and France.
    Leadership of the kingdom's armed forces also delivers a powerbase to whichever prince is in charge, making it a pivotal position.
    Prince Sultan's son, Prince Khaled bin Sultan, is now the deputy defence minister and has for many years been seen as a strong candidate to replace his father as minister one day.
    However, analysts said it was not certain he would be appointed to the role by King Abdullah.
    Saudi newspapers carried full-page condolence messages from princes and Saudi companies and devoted pages of coverage to Sultan's death.
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