Libya's state-controlled newspapers denounced the Saudi royal family on Tuesday, blaming it for recent reports that accused Libya of plotting to assassinate the Saudi crown prince. The alleged plot, reported in American media last week, was quickly denied by Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam. The reports said the plot had been revealed by an American Muslim leader jailed on charges of illegal financial dealings with Libya, and by a former Libyan intelligence officer in Saudi custody. President Bush confirmed U.S. investigators are looking into the alleged plot to kill Crown Prince Abdullah, who is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia as King Fahd is senile ailing.
``Saudi Arabia is looking for a hook on which to hang its problems and for scapegoats for its crises,'' Libya's Azzahf Akhdar said in an editorial Tuesday. It was referring to the series of Islamic terror attacks that have shaken the kingdom during the past 13 months. ``The royal family is up to its ears in spreading evil and incubating terrorists in the world,'' the newspaper added, an apparent reference to the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11 attacks were Saudis. Referring to the Saudi royal family, the paper said: ``The Al Saud family exceeded its expiration date centuries ago. It must realize that lies will not save it from the crisis it is experiencing now.''
Al-Shams newspaper said Saudi citizens were suffering ``great oppression under the authoritarian royal family.'' Relations between Libya and Saudi Arabia reached a low point in March 2003 when Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Abdullah traded insults at an Arab summit. Their exchange was broadcast live on television. |