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Riyadh: Al Qaida in Saudi Arabia has rejected a renewed amnesty offer to repentant militants from Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, according to an Internet statement posted on Tuesday. "We say no surrender. It's either victory or martyrdom," said the statement signed by the Al Qaida Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula and posted on a website frequently used by militants. "The government is not in a position of power [because] this offer which has already expired has proven to be a failure," it said. Al Qaida urged Muslims in the birthplace of Islam to "burn the land" underneath the feet of Westerners. "We won't rest or live happily until the muja-hideen's blows reach you [Westerners] and your slaves [Saudi monarchy]," it said.
Last month, King Abdullah renewed the amnesty he first offered two years ago when he was then crown prince, when a campaign by militants to topple the Saudi regime in the name of Al Qaida was at its height. King Abdullah's policies of cautious reform and pious image are seen as having won public support for the government's crackdown against Al Qaida militants. Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Governor of Asir Region reiterated that attempts by terrorists and extremists to shake up the affiliation of the Saudi youth to their country would prove to be futile. Al Faisal made the remarks during a press conference held in the governorate in Asir to announce the names of the winners of the "Abha Culture Prize", saying, "The terrorist operations to horrify and intimidate citizens has not affected people's loyalty to their country and its leadership." He stressed the success of the "Abha Cultural Forum" in discussing and diagnosing the "deviant thought". Besides its strong message in alerting the society about the dangerous consequences of the dissemination of this destructive ideology. He also described the public's reaction and response to the Forum's message as excellent, pointing out that the forum helped in changing the pattern of people's thinking not only in Asir but all over the Kingdom.
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