‘No Link Between Democracy and Terrorism’ (Naif- SA)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

&category=Kingdom

JEDDAH, 6 November 2003 — Interior Minister Prince Naif has reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to political reforms but insisted that the absence of democracy was not the reason for terrorism. “It is not permissible to cite the absence of democracy in order to justify the practices of some terrorist groups,” the minister told the pan-Arab Al-Hayat Arabic daily. “Otherwise, it would mean that terrorism is a form of democratic expression, whereas terrorists are hostile to democracy in the first place,” he pointed out. “Violence in all its forms has occurred, and occurs, in Western democracies so how can we say that terrorism results from a lack of democracy?” the prince asked.
<snip>