The Hill News

The Hill's Comment Editor Emmanuel Touhey asked HRH Prince Miteb bin Abdullah some questions via e-mail about the situation in the Middle East. Prince Miteb bin Abdullah is the eldest son of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Commander of the Saudi National Guard and member of the Cabinet. He was born in Riyadh in 1953 and was educated at the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst, England.  

Emmnuel Touhey: To what do you attribute the wave of recent unrest in the Middle East?
Prince Miteb bin Abdullah: First, there are general reasons why we are seeing the people in North Africa and the Middle East protest. The most important is a desire for good paying jobs. With a job comes dignity and in our part of the world and in our faith the issue of dignity is very important. Beyond the desire for jobs is a general anger over economic mismanagement.  For example, countries with natural resources find themselves with very low per capita GNP. ! And I would add a genuine desire for reform in the political arena.

Second, each country in North Africa and the Middle East is unique. For example, what has brought the people of Libya to the streets and their demands for Colonel Gaddafi to leave is different from what the people of Egypt wanted. With its enormous natural resources and relatively small population, Libyans should have a very high standard of living and its economy should be ranked among the top in the world. But instead we see that 42 years of mismanagement of Libya’s resources by Colonel Gaddafi has left nothing but poverty for a majority of Libyans. So, it is natural and understandable that the people would ask for fundamental change.

Emmanuel Touhey: Does Saudi Arabia support implementing a no-fly zone over Libya?
Prince Miteb bin Abdullah: Absolutely. As you are aware, the Arab League has endorsed this idea. The people of Libya deserve to live in peace and pr! osperity. Unfortunately, Colonel Gaddafi has mismanaged the co! untry’ s resources to such a degree that it has left much of Libya in poverty.

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