Saudis' muted celebrations

King Fahd's regime has a firm grip on the country

		By Frank Gardner BBC Middle East Correspondent

Saudi Arabia celebrates the 20th anniversary of King Fahd's accession to the throne this week, according to the Muslim lunar calendar.

But most public celebrations have been cancelled due to the 11 September terrorist attacks in America.

With Saudi Arabia facing its worst crisis since the Gulf war of over 10 years ago, most people here expect the ruling family to survive, at least in the short term.

But any crisis here only reminds people of the urgent need for reforms.

After years of pretending that Osama Bin Laden was a nobody, the Saudi Government has belatedly woken up to the danger he poses to their rule.

The authorities have tried to silence several dissident clerics who have sympathised with Bin Laden.

Crackdown

They have placed spies in mosques, extra police on the streets and ordered bank accounts to be frozen.

In the first few days after the 11 September attacks, hundreds of young Saudis went off to Pakistan to make their way to join Bin Laden's al-Qaeda group in Afghanistan.

Now, Saudis applying for Pakistani visas have to first get government clearance.

Meanwhile, dozens if not hundreds of Saudis have been detained and questioned about their militant Islamist sympathies.

Firm grip

The Saudi authorities do appear to have a firm grip on this country and the initial popular support for Osama Bin Laden has somewhat subsided.

But any crisis here only reminds people of the urgent need for reforms.

Power and money are concentrated in the hands of a few. Corruption is rife and unemployment is growing. The economy is still heavily dependent on oil and on millions of imported workers to do the jobs that most Saudis do not want to do.

Economists say that the county can survive this crisis for now, but that if it does not embrace serious reforms soon it will face even bigger challenges before long.