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SAUDI ARABIA'S PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL DISCUSSES REFORM, HIS COUNTRY'S UPCOMING ELECTION--AND WHY WOMEN CAN'T VOTE

Published Feb 06, 2005 at 7:00 PM EST Updated Mar 13, 2010 at 6:12 PM EST

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NEWSWEEK: There are stories of people showing up at registration booths and asking whether they're going to be paid to vote. How are you educating a whole nation about participating in a democracy?

Prince Turki al-Faisal: There has very intensive media campaign in the newspapers and television and radio, telling people exactly what it is that electing somebody else means. And we have to be frank about this, this is a learning process for us... I'm sure we'll find that after the election takes place that there is still some more to be done and many things to be revised.

Why aren't women allowed to vote?

I think there is a very practical reason. When asked about it, the head of the committee that studied in the elections and put down the propositions, publicly said 'We face practical issues, like the preparation of places for women to vote, the distribution of identity cards to women.' Women, of course, enjoy having their own identity cards, but not many of them registered to have [them] when the issue came up, I think, six or seven years ago. So that was another problem they had in terms of practical things that could be done, how to register women. First of all, they'd have to take out identity cards, and that is a very long procedure, you have to go and register and so on. And then having the identity cards, then they would have to go and register as voters. But it's something to look forward to in the future. The law itself that was passed for voting does not distinguish or does not qualify who has the right to vote and who doesn't. It's based on universal suffrage.

A few weeks ago, male and female protestors were sentenced to between 100 and 250 lashes for demonstrating against the regime. Commentators looked at it as almost having an ethical, a religious dimension.

Our legal system is based on the Sharia, the religious law that is embodied in the Qu'ran, the holy book, and the practice of the Prophet as well as the general practice of the society after that. So it has a religious connotation. [Lashing] is more a moral punishment than it is an actual physical ... you know, with skin splitting, leather whips applied to bare skin. It's not like that.

It's an interesting time to hand down such a harsh sentence, exactly at the moment that you're embarking on this reform program.

Law is law. Nobody is above the law. And the legal system has total independence, and a judge will issue his verdict, regardless of what is happening in other sectors of society. So I think this is a manifestation of that, judges do not take into consideration [anything] except the legal aspects. Diplomats like us, we have to take all sorts of aspects into consideration before we say anything, but a judge will do it on his own and not be interfered with. But there is recourse for everybody who has been sentenced. As a matter of fact, there are three levels of appeal after the first sentence is passed, so if these people want to appeal the sentence they can do that.

Will there be legal reforms after the elections?

Legal reform has been taking place for the last 10 years. The practice in courts, lawyers' representation for defendants, the establishment of the Lawyers Association [are things] we didn't have. The function of a lawyer was not recognized in the past, and this only took place three or four years ago when the government passed a regulation defining who lawyers are. Women have a right now also, along with men, for legal representation and for whatever it is that is required for their defense. So all these reforms have been taking place. But more reforms will take place, as people become more educated, particularly in the rights guaranteed under Islamic law and, secondly, as society becomes even more complex. We started out with a very basic and simple tribal system, most of it based on custom and folklore, and now we have developed in a more complex social structure, with not just Saudis but Saudis, Egyptians, Indians, Americans, Hindus and Christians. It's become a mixed society like you have in the States, so it requires more regulation and more institutions to deal with these things.

What about the recent crackdowns on demonstrations called by dissidents?

The issue of demonstrations goes to the very grain of one of the important issues of social cohesion and harmony, not just in the kingdom, but this goes all the way back into Islamic history. There is a word in Arabic, 'al-fitna', and anything that instigates, or anybody who instigates al-fitna is prosecuted under Islamic law. So he or she or they would be tampering with the interests of the majority who should live in harmony, rather than in discord and in civil strife and so on. The prohibition on demonstrations comes from that, within Islamic jurisprudence. Now, there are those who would counter-argue with that and make the point that going out in the street and demonstrating is an expression of freedom, that this is a right that people should be guaranteed. So like all developing societies and countries, these issues will come about as society develops.

In terms of the reform process as a whole, what do you see as the most pressing need?

Job opportunities, and not just for the Saudis, but for anybody, and I think this is why the king stressed his six-point reform program, the invigoration of the economic and business cycle in the kingdom.

How do you square the reform program with coping with the threat of Al Qaeda and religious radicals?

Our commitment to reform has not been affected by our battle against terrorism. Our job was made easier by the fact that the terrorists themselves have been looked upon by the rest of society as extremely alien and extraneous. So one didn't have to practice the kind of things that were practiced in other countries to get rid of terrorism, either by, for example, general curfews that would impinge on people's movement and people's interests, or collective punishment.

How great a threat do you feel terrorism is to the kingdom's stability?

I think it's a threat in terms of the fact that people can explode themselves, and have chosen to do that. It has to be dealt with, not just in security matters, but also in terms of ideology, in terms of social behavior, in terms of reforms to make sure that everything is being done to encompass everybody and not keep them extraneous and alien. But also I think it is very important to see that, particularly since the initial terrorist act in May 2003 [when car bombers targeted compounds housing foreigners in Riyadh, killing 25 people,] there's been an enormous economic boom. People were bringing their money from abroad and putting it in there. I think this is an indication of the people's confidence in not just the regime, but in their values and their institution.

Recently, a judge criticized three arrested dissidents for 'using Western terminology' in their calls for reform. Is the term 'democracy' gaining credence in Saudi Arabia?

The general [preference] among the people is to emanate from our traditions and to go from there. Democracy as a means is not objectionable, but it is looked upon as a means and not simply as an aim. In the 1950s and '60 and '70s, so-called Arab socialism came about. The big headline in those days was democracy, socialist democracy. We had elections in many parts of the Arab world, but they were a sham. They were not a signature of sovereignty. So the kingdom has taken its time in reaching the steps that we have taken, but we think that we have taken them on solid ground and therefore the effects will be more solid than the sham experiences that [have occurred in] other parts of the Arab world. Democracy is not something that is perhaps indigenous as a word, but the concept and the means are not only acceptable, but they're going to be even more practiced in application.

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