SAUDI ARABIA: 1988 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 12430

S/CT FOR WHARTON

E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: PTER SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA: 1988 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT

REF: STATE 357278

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SECTION I - UNCLASSIFIED
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1. THERE FOLLOWS DRAFT VERSION OF THE SAUDI ARABIAN
SUBMISSION TO THE 1988 REPORT TO CONGRESS ON
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, KEYED TO REFTEL.


2. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL POSTS--

- A. RESULTS OF 1988 COURT PROSECUTIONS INVOLVING
INTERNATIONAL OR DOMESTIC TERRORISM:

- FOLLOWING BOMBINGS IN MARCH AND APRIL AT TWO
INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES AT RAS TANURA AND JUBAIL, IN THE
EASTERN PROVINCE, AND THE DISMANTLING OF ANOTHER BOMB AT
RAS TANURA, THREE YOUNG MEN WERE ARRESTED AT QATIF IN
EARLY AUGUST AFTER A GUN BATTLE WITH POLICE. THE THREE
AND AN ACCOMPLICE WERE CHARGED WITH TERRORISM, SABOTAGE,
CONSPIRING WITH IRAN, AND, IN THE CASE OF TWO, MURDER.
THEY WERE TRIED IN CLOSED SESSION, ACCORDING TO SAUDI
LAW, DURING SEPTEMBER OF 1988, FOUND GUILTY AND SENTENCED
TO DEATH. PRIOR TO THE EXECUTION, AUTHORITIES RECEIVED
THREATS FROM AN UNKNOWN GROUP CALLING ITSELF "HIZBOLLAH
OF THE HEJAZ". AFTER REVIEW OF THE SENTENCES BY THE
KING, THE EXECUTIONS WERE CARRIED OUT BY DECAPITATION ON
SEPTEMBER 30. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, AUTHORITIES RECEIVED
THREATS OF RETALIATION FROM AN ALSO-UNKNOWN "ISLAMIC
JIHAD OF THE HIJAZ", POSSIBLY THE SAME AS THE PREVIOUS
GROUP.

- B. STATUS OF THE PLO IN THE HOST COUNTRY:

- THE STATUS OF THE PLO IN SAUDI ARABIA DID NOT
CHANGE DURING 1988. THE PLO MAINTAINS DIPLOMATIC
REPRESENTATION IN THE KINGDOM, WITH A MISSION NEAR
RIYADH'S DIPLOMATIC QUARTER. SAUDI ARABIA WAS ONE OF THE
FIRST COUNTRIES TO RECOGNIZE THE DECLARATION OF A
PALESTINIAN STATE ISSUED BY THE PNC IN NOVEMBER, 1988.

- C. STATEMENTS BY THE HOST COUNTRY IN SUPPORT OF
TERRORISM OR TERRORISM-SUPPORTING COUNTRIES:

- SAUDI ARABIA DID NOT MAKE ANY SUCH STATEMENTS
DURING 1988. IN FACT, HIGH OFFICIALS CONDEMNED TERRORISM
ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, MOST NOTICABLY IN THE CASE OF
THE KUWAITI AIRLINER HIJACKING IN APRIL, WHICH INVOLVED
SAUDI CITIZENS. AS IN THAT CASE, THEY HAVE GENERALLY
CONDEMNED TERRORIST ACTS CARRIED OUT IN THE NAME OF THE
PALESTINIAN CAUSE WHILE CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE CONCEPT
OF A PALESTINIAN STATE.


3. SPECIFIC POST REPORTING REQUIREMENTS--

- A. REVIEW OF MAJOR COUNTER-TERRORISM EFFORTS IN CY
1988:

- SAUDI ARABIA CONTINUED TO SPEAK OUT STRONGLY AND
VOTE AGAINST TERRORISM IN 1988 ON ALL APPROPRIATE
OCCASIONS. IN THE FIELD OF ANTI-TERRORISM TRAINING, WEST
GERMAN SPECIALIST GEN. ULRICH WEGENER ARRIVED IN JUNE TO
BEGIN ADVANCED TRAINING FOR THE ANTI-TERRORISM FORCES OF
THE SAUDI SPECIAL SECURITY FORCE, FOUNDED IN 1979. THE
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ALSO SENT AN OFFICER TO A US
SEMINAR ON NEGOTIATING IN HOSTAGE SITUATIONS. FOLLOWING
THE EASTERN PROVINCE BOMBINGS, INDUSTRIAL SECURITY WAS
CONSIDERABLY TIGHTENED, AND CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF
EMPLOYEES WERE PUT UNDER INCREASED SURVEILLANCE. THE
SAUDIS ALSO TOOK ELABORATE SECURITY PREPARATIONS FOR THE
1988 HAJJ (THE ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA AND MEDINA) IN
VIEW OF THE RIOTS CAUSED BY IRANIAN PILGRIMS THE YEAR
BEFORE. THE HAJJ WENT SMOOTHLY. MONTHS AFTER THE HAJJ,
THE PRESS REPORTED THAT ARMS HAD BEEN CONFISCATED FROM A
FEW PILGRIMS.

- B. RESPONSE OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM:

- IN AUGUST, THE ULEMA (THE NATIONAL BODY OF
RELIGIOUS JURISTS) ANNOUNCED PROMULGATION OF A NEW LAW
DEFINING SABOTAGE AS A MAJOR CRIME FOR WHICH THE DEATH
PENALTY WAS POSSIBLE; THE DEFINITION OF SABOTAGE IN THE
LAW INCLUDED HIJACKING OR BOMBING AIRPLANES. THIS LAW
WAS REFERRED TO REPEATEDLY IN THE MEDIA DURING THE TRIAL
AND EXECUTION OF THE MEN ARRESTED FOR THE EASTERN
PROVINCE BOMBINGS, ALTHOUGH THEIR CRIMES WERE COMMITTED
BEFORE THE LAW WENT INTO EFFECT. A ROYAL DECREE, WHICH
WAS NEVER OFFICIALLY PROMULGATED BUT WAS DISCUSSED IN THE
SAUDI PRESS, IMPOSED SIMILAR PENALTIES FOR DEMONSTRATING
DURING THE HAJJ, ENGAGING IN TERRORIST ACTS, OR OTHERWISE
ATTEMPTING DISRUPTION OF THE PILGRIMAGE. SAUDI OFFICIALS
ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WOULD NOT HESITATE TO APPLY THESE
LAWS FULLY IF NEEDED.

- C. SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND DIPLOMATIC
SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM:

- THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT DOES NOT SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL
TERRORISM AND HAS REPEATEDLY SPOKEN AND VOTED AGAINST
TERORIST ACTS IN INTERNATIONAL FORA. SAUDI OFFICIALS
MAKE A CAREFUL DISTINCTION BETWEEN SUPPORT OF TERRORISM
AND SUPPORT OF THE PLO, WHICH THEY CONSIDER A LEGITIMATE
NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT. WHILE DECRYING ACTS OF
TERRORISM ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF THE
PALESTINIANS, SAUDI ARABIA SUPPORTS THE PLO BOTH
POLITICALLY AND FINANCIALLY (INDEED, IT IS ONE OF THAT
ORGANIZATION'S LEADING DONORS),AND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST
NATIONS TO EXTEND DIPLOMATIC RECOGNITION TO THE NEW
PALESTINIAN "STATE." SAUDI ARABIA IS NOT A KNOWN
SANCTUARY FOR TERRORISTS.

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SECTION II - CONFIDENTIAL
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4. IN REGARD TO PARAGRAPH 2, PART A, A POLICE SOURCE IN
THE EASTERN PROVINCE HAS TOLD US THAT SEVERAL MORE
PERSONS SUSPECTED OF COMPLICITY IN THE JUBAIL AND RAS
TANURA BOMBINGS ARE STILL BEING HELD BY THE SAUDI GENERAL
INVESTIGATIVE DIRECTORATE (GID) WHILE INVESTIGATION OF
THE CASE CONTINUES. THUS, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT FURTHER
TRIALS AND EXECUTIONS WILL TAKE PLACE. AT LEAST ONE OF
THESE SUSPECTS IS SAID TO BE A SHIA OF LEBANESE ORIGIN,
LEADING SAUDI POLICE TO BELIEVE THAT "HIZBOLLAH OF THE
HIJAZ" AND "ISLAMIC JIHAD OF THE HIJAZ" ARE ONLY
SURROGATES FOR THE LEBANESE HIZBOLLAH ORGANIZATION.


CUTLER