Saudi princes detained after utility bill protest
RIYADH — Eleven Saudi princes face trials in the kingdom after being arrested for a protest against the end of state subsidies for their utility bills, the attorney general said on Sunday.
The princes were detained after gathering outside a palace in Riyadh on Thursday to demonstrate against a government decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.
They also demanded compensation for a death sentence issued against one of their cousins, convicted of murder and executed in 2016, Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has introduced reforms that include Statement from public prosecutor reducing energy subsidies, introducing value-added tax and cutting some perks to royal family members to try to cope with a drop in crude prices that has caused a budget deficit estimated at 195 billion riyals ($52 billion) in 2018.
The princes had gathered on Thursday at Qasr al-Hokm palace demanding the cancellation of a recent decree that halted state payment of water and electricity bills for royal family members and seeking compensation for a death sentence implemented in 2016 against one of their cousins, Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabeer.
“Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order. Members of a security services stepped in to restore order and the princes were arrested,” the public prosecutor’s statement said, without identifying the princes.
News website Sabq earlier identified the leader of the group of princes by the initials S.A.S. The Saud al-Kabeer branch of the House of Saud descend from a cousin of late King Abdulaziz, who founded the modern kingdom.
Dozens of princes, high officials and senior businessmen were rounded up in November in a crackdown on graft that has boosted the power of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
SEOUL — The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have named their delegations for a high-level meeting this week, the unification ministry in Seoul said on Sunday.
The proposed ROK delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myounggyon, according to Seoul’s unification ministry.
Four other delegates include Vice Unification Minister Chung Hae-sung, Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Roh Tae-kang, Ahn Moon-hyun, deputy director-general at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Kim Ki-hong, a vice president of games planning at the organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.
The DPRK delegation for Tuesday’s meeting will be led by Ri Son-gwon, head of the DPRK’s agency handling inter-Korean affairs, the ministry said.
Four other delegates were CPRF Vice Chairman Jon Jong-su, Vice Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Won Kil-u, CPRK Director Hwang Chung-song and Ri Kyong-sik, a member of the National Olympic Committee of the DPRK.
The DPRK accepted the ROK’s dialogue overture on Friday, agreeing to hold the senior-level, intergovernmental talks at the Peace House in the ROK side of Panmunjom that straddles the inter-Korean land border.
Signs of a thaw were seen on the Korean Peninsula as top DPRK leader Kim Jongun said in his New Year’s address that his country was willing to dispatch a delegation to the ROK-hosted Winter Olympics set to kick off in February.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed earlier this week with US President Donald Trump that the two allies would not conduct the annual springtime war games during the Winter Olympic period.
Trump said on Saturday he would “absolutely” be willing to talk on the phone to Kim and that he hopes a positive development results from talks between the two sides.
The talks also received a cautious welcome from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who voiced hopes but stressed that having a meeting for the sake of a meeting would be a waste.
“The Olympics is a celebration of peace. I want to recognise that change,” Abe said in a recorded interview aired on Sunday on national broadcaster NHK.
Meanwhile, the DPRK’s Olympic representative said on Saturday the nation is “likely to participate” in next month’s Winter Games in the ROK.
Japanese news agency Kyodo said Chang Ung, Pyongyang’s representative to the International Olympic Committee, made the brief comment about the DPRK’s likely participation to reporters during a stopover at Beijing’s international airport.
It said Chang was believed to be traveling to Switzerland, where the IOC is based.
Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order.”