SAUDI ARABIA: Saudis say Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who has died in Switzerland, will be remembered for his control of state security systems and his fight against al Qaeda Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia
Record ID:
189001
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudis say Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who has died in Switzerland, will be remembered for his control of state security systems and his fight against al Qaeda Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia
- Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Saudis say Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who has died in Switzerland, will be remembered for his control of state security systems and his fight against al Qaeda Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia
- Date: 17th June 2012
- Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (JUNE 16, 2012) (REUTERS) STREET SIGN READING IN ARABIC "PRINCE NAYEF STREET" VARIOUS OF CARS DRIVING ON PRINCE NAYEF STREET . TWO SAUDI MEN IN RESTAURANT WATCHING TELEVISION NEWS ON DEATH OF CROWN PRINCE NAYEF'S DEATH BIN ABDULAZIZ AL-SAUD TELEVISION SCREEN WITH NEWS BAR IN RED READING IN ARABIC "CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES MOURNING HIS BROTHER PRINCE NAYEF BIN ABDUL-AZIZ AL SAUD". CLOSE OF SAUDI MAN WATCHING NEWS ON TELEVISION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) YAZEED AL-ONIZI, SAUDI CITIZEN, SAYING: "He controlled the state security and he was the right arm of the king and was in charge of the security of the state He was fighting all the habits that contrary to Islam and Islamic law.`` (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ABDULAZIZ AL BAZ, SAUDI CITIZEN, SAYING: "God bless his soul and forgive him, he had control of the security of the country, a first assistant to the king. We are sad for him and call on God to help the king and help us too regarding our loss of such a person of such a high authority in the country. It is a loss to the people and all the world and the Arab people also." VARIOUS OF PICTURES OF CROWN PRINCE NAYEF AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY ON STUDIO FRONT DOORS. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED SAUDI CITIZEN SAYING: "Prince Nayef was responsible for safety and security. Whenever you mention Nayef, you think of security and whenever you mention security you think of Nayef. God's mercy and may God forgive him." VARIOUS OF BANNER ON SCHOOL WALL SHOWING PICTURE OF CROWN PRINCE NAYEF AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY
- Embargoed: 2nd July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saudi Arabia
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAB94TT6V46ZJ9TB8R9ZX4G0ZSD
- Story Text: Saudis remembered Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who died on Saturday (June 16), for building up the formidable security force which crushed an al Qaeda revolt in Saudi Arabia and with it any dissent against his family's century-old grip on the world's leading oil exporting nation.
Named governor of Riyadh aged only 20, Nayef impressed his father, the founder of the Saudi state, King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, and become interior minister in 1975 where he was soon known as an ally of Wahhabi clerics.
It was this ministerial role that came to define Nayef by giving him responsibility for protecting the kingdom from internal threats - most frequently from Islamist militants.
Saudi citizen Yazeed al-Onzi said: "He controlled the state security and he was the right arm of the king and was in charge of the security of the state He was fighting all the habits that contrary to Islam and Islamic law."
Another Saudi citizen, Abdulaziz al Baz, mourned the death of Crown Prince Nayef, saying: "God bless his soul and forgive him, he had control of the security of the country, a first assistant to the king. We are sad for him and call on God to help the king and help us too regarding our loss of such a person of such a high authority in the country. It is a loss to the people and all the world and the Arab people also."
An unidentified man said: "Prince Nayef was responsible for safety and security. Whenever you mention Nayef, you think of security and whenever you mention security you think of Nayef. God's mercy and may God forgive him."
To liberals, Nayef was the forbidding face of a conservative establishment that opposed any real moves toward democracy or greater women's rights, oversaw the fearsome religious police and for years headed an Interior Ministry which imprisoned political activists without charge.
His main concern was battling al Qaeda in the kingdom and in neighbouring Yemen and maintaining a strong barrier against Shi'ite arch-enemy, Iran, according to U.S. embassy assessments.
Nayef's elevation to crown prince, next in line to the throne, after the death of his brother Sultan last year had alarmed moderates and liberals who feared that if he succeeded as king he would stop reforms his brother Abdullah has started.
Nayef has a fierce reputation at the head of the internal security forces.
The domestic intelligence service, the Mabahith which is under Interior Ministry command, has over the years targeted Islamists, liberals and Shi'ites who sought to organise protests or petition the king on democratic reform.
As the man to whom regional governors answered, Nayef personally handled the petitions of individual Saudi citizens on a daily basis, cultivating a network of supporters across a kingdom where tribal and regional ties still matter.
A prominent Saudi rights group, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, in January issued a statement decrying Nayef for failing to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the interior ministry.
Crown Prince Nayef had been ill for some time and died in a Swiss hospital.
He is to be buried in the holy city of Mecca on Sunday (June 17). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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