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State: Saudis "Encouraging Terrorism"
Staff Writer
FORWARD Friday, March 22, 2002
WASHINGTON - The State Department charged Saudi Arabia with "encouraging terrorism" by sending hundreds of millions of dollars in support for the families of "martyrs" since the start of the Intifada.
The statement by a State Department spokesman, prompted by inquiries by the Forward, was in response to press releases posted on the offical Web site of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia indicating that Riyadh offered financial support to "1,000 families of Palestinian martyrs" in 2000. In March of 2001, a government committee that collected citizen donations pledged $5,333 "to each family which suffered martyrdom," according to the Web site. Some $33 million was put aside for this purpose, which would give support to more than 6,000 families.
In April of 2001, a Saudi official said that a committee of Saudi citizens had remittances of 1.71 billion riyal, or $450 million dollars "for assisting the Palestinian mujahadeen," according to the Web site.
"This is not going for assistance of an humanitarian nature," said Greg Sullivan, spokesman for the Near East Affairs Bureau at the State Department. "That's clearly in the avenue of encouraging terrorism."
The last notice of Saudi support for martyrs on their Web site is August 20, 2001. Sullivan said that the fact that there were no later announcements was probably due to American pressure as part of the war on terrorism.
"Since we've raised the issue of terrorism funding with the Saudis they've been more aware of our concerns," Sullivan said. "We've seen the same thing from Iran and Iraq, though I don't like putting the Saudis with those two."
The embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington did not respond to calls.
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© 1997-2005, Islamic Supreme Council of America
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