|
 King Abdullah, who died early on Friday after a short illness, was
buried in an unmarked grave in keeping with local religious
traditions.
By appointing his youngest half-brother Muqrin, 69, as Crown Prince
and nephew Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as Deputy Crown Prince, Salman
has swiftly quelled speculation about internal palace rifts at a
moment of regional turmoil.
Oil prices jumped in an immediate reaction as news of Abdullah's
death added to uncertainty in energy markets. [O/R]
Salman, thought to be 79, takes over as the ultimate authority in a
country that faces long-term domestic challenges compounded by the
plunging price of oil in recent months and the rise of the Islamic
State militant group in Iraq and Syria, which vows to toppled the Al
Saud ruling family.
Salman must navigate an intense rivalry with Shi'ite Muslim power
Iran playing out in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain, open
conflict in two neighboring states, a threat from Islamist militants
and bumpy relations with the United States.
In his first speech as king, shown live on Saudi television, Salman
pledged to maintain the same approach to ruling the world's top oil
exporter and birthplace of Islam as his predecessors and called for
unity among Arab states.
 "We will continue, God willing, to hold the straight course that
this country has followed since its establishment by the late King
Abdulaziz," he said.
Salman becomes the last Saudi ruler to be born before the discovery
of commercial quantities of oil in the world's top crude exporter.
And Mohammed bin Nayef becomes the first grandson of the kingdom's
founding monarch, King Abdulaziz, known as Ibn Saud, to take an
established place in the line of succession.
All Saudi kings since Abdulaziz's death in 1953 have been his sons
and the need to move to the next generation had earlier raised the
prospect of a palace power struggle. King Salman also appointed his
own son, Mohammed bin Salman, Defense Minister and head of the royal
court.
The rapidity of the decisions startled Saudis, used to a delay of up
to several months before top appointments following the deaths of
their monarchs. The choice of Mohammed bin Nayef was seen by some as
a reflection of his strong record in counter-terrorism in his role
as interior minister.
"Times are dangerous," said Joseph Kechichian, a scholar of Gulf
Arab ruling families. "Mohammed bin Nayef's appointment shows Salman
feels it's important to speak quickly with a single determined voice
in the face of all these threats."
U.S. President Barack Obama, moving to cement Washington's long
alliance with Saudi Arabia, was expected to speak to Salman in the
coming days.
Reputedly pragmatic and adept at managing the delicate balance of
clerical, tribal, royal and Western interests that factor into Saudi
policy making, Salman appears unlikely to change the kingdom's
approach to foreign affairs or energy sales.
Despite rumors about Salman's health and strength, diplomats who
have attended meetings between the new king and foreign leaders over
the past year have said he has been fully engaged in talks lasting
several hours at a time.
His nominated successor, Crown Prince Muqrin, is a former fighter
pilot and a relative progressive who grasps the need for long-term
reform, but who also has traditionally hawkish views on Iran.
REFORM LEGACY
In a country with a young population, many Saudis will be unable to
recall a time before King Abdullah's rule, both as monarch from 2005
and as de facto regent for a decade before that.
[to top of second column] |
His legacy was an effort to overhaul the kingdom's economic and
social systems to address a looming demographic crisis by creating
private sector jobs and making young Saudis better prepared to take
them. "I think (Salman) will continue with Abdullah's reforms. He
realizes the importance of this. He's not conservative in person,
but he values the opinion of the conservative constituency of the
country," said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a news channel owned by a
Saudi prince.
However, Abdullah's reforms did not stretch to politics, and after
the Arab Spring his security forces clamped down on all forms of
dissent, imprisoning outspoken critics of the ruling family
alongside women drivers and Islamist militants.
As the Saudi population grows and oil prices fall globally, the
royal family will increasingly struggle to maintain its generous
spending on social benefits for ordinary people, potentially
undermining its future legitimacy in a country where there are no
elections, analysts say.
King Salman has previously spoken against the idea of introducing
democracy in Saudi Arabia in comments to American diplomats recorded
in embassy cables later released by WikiLeaks.
He is expected to focus on creating jobs and big infrastructure
projects to prevent falling oil prices from causing social tensions
or undermining business confidence.
UNMARKED GRAVE
In keeping with Muslim traditions, Abdullah's body, clothed in white
and shrouded in a plain cloth, was carried on a stretcher by
relatives to rest in a mosque before being taken to a cemetery and
buried in an unmarked grave.
Prayers in the mosque were led by King Salman and attended by Muslim
heads of state and other senior figures.
Among those who went to Riyadh were Turkish President Tayyip
Erdogan, Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and Qatar's emir
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Iranian media said Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif would also attend.
Non-Muslim dignitaries will visit to pay respects to the new monarch
and crown prince, and other members of the Al Saud dynasty, in the
coming days.
 Later, following the evening prayer an hour after sunset, King
Salman and Crown Prince Muqrin will receive pledges of allegiance
from other ruling family members, Wahhabi clerics, tribal chiefs,
leading businessmen and other Saudi subjects.
In the kingdom's strict Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, ostentatious
displays of grief are frowned upon, although there was an immediate
surge of sorrowful messages from Saudis on social media.
(Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Sami Aboudi in Dubai;
writing by William Maclean; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Giles
Elgood)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
