RIYADH: Reform has become a talking point in conservative Saudi Arabia, but even its most ardent advocates do not see rapid change until more Saudis accept the risks that come with challenging the status quo.
Confused by weak and mixed signals of support from the Saudi leadership, these reform advocates have been unable or unwilling to push effectively for an open political system or economic reform, Saudis and diplomats in the kingdom say.
But a rare initiative by de facto leader Crown Prince Abdullah for domestic reform and more popular participation in Arab politics has struck a chord among some Saudis who feel that the country must adapt to the modern world and counter perceived Western hostility after September 11.
“We Saudis have talked the talk, but we have not yet walked the walk. The new hope is that these words and initiatives will provoke progress this time,” said a Saudi.
Another Saudi said that with no clear agenda spelled out for political change, many people would not dare speak up in case the authorities interpreted their suggestions as dissent.
Prince Abdullah’s leaked proposal, to be submitted formally to an Arab summit meeting in Bahrain in March, calls on Arab rulers to empower their people.
“Internal reform and enhanced political participation in the Arab states are essential steps for the building of Arab capabilities and for providing the conditions for a comprehensive awakening and development of Arab human resources,” a text published in a Saudi newspaper said.
But it did not advocate specific reforms for the Arab world, nor say how Saudi Arabia could open up its own system of an absolute monarchy guided by a strict version of Islamic law.
ACCOUNTABILITY: The most important outcome of political reform would be accountability, including the right to ask how state funds were spent, said several Saudis.
Oil revenue that once provided generous social welfare and kept any political discontent at bay is straining to meet the demands imposed by a fast-growing population.
Khalid al-Dakhil, a sociologist at King Saud University, said the crown prince would not have allowed details of the initiative to leak out unless he was willing to make a start.
“Arabs cannot do anything for the Palestinians, for the Iraqis, but they can do something from within for themselves. Leaders can become a rallying point for their peoples,” al-Dakhil said.
Crown Prince Abdullah has taken bold steps that do not bear the usual hallmarks of lengthy public and private consensus building among senior royal and merchant princes and the religious establishment, a Riyadh-based diplomat said.
ELECTED PARLIAMENT?: Diplomats said the prince’s initiative had fuelled rumours in Riyadh over whether the Shoora council, now an appointed advisory body, could evolve into an elected parliament.
Shura members and other Saudis have said elections would be introduced first in municipal councils — the start of more public participation in Saudi politics.
The diplomat said any change to the Shoora system would have to be accepted by the powerful clerical establishment for whom the concept of democracy challenges the belief that all laws must be based on the Holy Quran and Islamic law.
Some members of the Shura council said an improvement in the selection process and the responsibilities of the body was now under debate, with no royal objections.—Reuters