Saudi Arabia: progress in human rights and in fighting al-Qaida organization

The advisor of the Saudi crown prince for the foreign policy affairs Adel al-Jabeir said on Tuesday that there is a genuine opportunity that women in Saudi Arabia will cast their votes in the next meunicipal councils elections due in 2009.

Al-Jubeir indicated from Washington to the unanimous agreement in the Kingdom that the embargo imposed on women to take part in several public life demonstration should allow them the right to vote. He explained that the "chairman of the elections committee will recommend that women to cast their votes in next elections."

On the other hand, al-Jubeir said that the campaign against extremists in the kingdom after September 11 attacks "eliminated the first lines of their leadership and undermined their supply and communication lines and restricted their ability to collect funds or recruit members." But he added "we have not eliminated the bottleneck yet. There are many people in Saudi Arabia who own weapons."