P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 30 March 2004 — Saudi Arabia yesterday lambasted Israel’s “inhuman” practices against the Palestinians and its assassination of Palestinian leaders, urging the world community to rein in Israel to put an end to its aggression.

Addressing the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers in Riyadh, Crown Prince Abdullah spoke on “the repeated Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people and their national symbols and the explosive situation they have created in Palestine.”

Prince Abdullah called upon the world community to force Israel to comply with international resolutions.

“The world community’s failure to take a firm and decisive stand has encouraged Israel to continue its aggressive practices and abort all efforts aimed at establishing peace in the region,” he said.

The Cabinet also expressed satisfaction over the progress of women’s education in the country, Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy told the Saudi Press Agency after the meeting.

Prince Abdullah last Saturday announced the transformation of the existing women’s colleges in Riyadh into a full-fledged university, the Kingdom’s first for women only. The Cabinet said this reflected “the government’s efforts to promote education.”

The Cabinet meeting gave the green light to a prisoner exchange agreement with Sri Lanka, to be signed by Interior Minister Prince Naif or his deputy.

The meeting agreed to sign an agreement with Yemen for customs cooperation and another to join the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco.

The Cabinet appointed Abdul Rahman ibn Muhammad Al-Dahmash adviser for technical affairs at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Dr. Saad ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Ammar ambassador, Adnan ibn Abdullah Baghdadi minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry, and Dr. Saleh ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Amr deputy governor of the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training.

Freedom of Expression

The Shoura Council, meanwhile, urged the Ministry of Culture and Information to promote freedom of expression in the Saudi media and open up the Kingdom’s information sector for private investment.

“The Shoura meeting urged the government to make the necessary financial allocations to improve internal and external information flow,” Dr. Hamoud Al-Badr, its secretary-general, added.

The weekly meeting of the 120-member consultative body also urged the ministry to make the necessary efforts to fight anti-Saudi smear campaigns.