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approach the king with a petition or
to express an opinion. (King Faisal
·was assassinated in 1975 during one
of these sessions.) Other members of
the royal family also hold majlis.
Family Spli t?
Despite the outward appearance of
solidarity, rumors have occasionally
surfaced of splits and divisive in–
trigues within the royal family.
While it is true that many ambitious
princes are waiting in the wings,
often lobbying for position within
the family, the significance of
these "splits" is usually vastly over–
stated.
A Western diplomat recently
raised the issue with a member of the
royal family. His reply: "Let me
explain something to you.
lf
there is
one thing this royal family is agreed
on, it is its own survival. We do not
survive by fighting each other." No
one realizes the importance of family
solidarity more than the royal princes
themselves.
Moreover, no significant faction
within Saudi society has any great
interest in upsetting the system.
There is no great popular discontent
such as toppled Iran's Shah.
Threat from Without
The major threat to the family comes
from without. And there is consider–
able evidence that that threat is
real!
Official Saudi accounts of the
November takeover of the Grand
Mosque had initially-and mistak–
enly-portrayed it as an isolated
incident instigated by a group of
religious zealots. But, as it turned
out, misguided religious fanatics
formed but a small part of the
force.
Interrogation of captured partici–
pants showed that the action was not
an isolated outburst of religious fana–
ticism, but part of a much more
sinister political conspiracy.
The cosmopolitan makeup of the
insurgents in Mecca was suspicious
in itself. Though the majority of the
intruders were Saudis, there was a
wide representation of Yemenis, Pa–
kistanis, Egyptians, Moroccans and
Kuwaitis. Various other features of
(Continued on page 25)
20
Olympics
(Continued from page 17)
pushing human physical ability to
the limit could be made ·just as
exciting as exploiting the theme of
national rivalry and competition.
To minimize the possible propa–
ganda exploitation by host countries,
the media could place more emphasis
on
sports
coverage and delete much
of the ancillary travelogue-type filler
material.
Serious Questlons
But what of those nations that might
still áttempt to exploit the Games as
a platform for política! protest-by
threatening a walkout, for example,
unless other. countries are barred
from competing? Most observers are
unanimous on this point: Jet the
protesting nations walk out and Jet
the Games continue.
Likewise, if the host coilntry
attempts to illegally dicta te the terms
on which other countries can partici–
pate, the IOC could simply withdraw
its sanction from the host city and
relocate the Games elsewhere-even
if it means a year's postponement of
the competítíons.
A
postponement,
most agree, would be much prefera–
ble to a further watering down of
Olympic principies.
A related question has stirred even
greater controversy. In the event the
lOC fails to uphold Olympic princi–
pies by declining to take decisive
actions of this oature, what should be
done? Critics of past IOC compro–
mises hold that under those circum–
stances, the Olympics have been ren–
dered virtually meaningless any–
way- and nations should decline to be
a part of the hypocrisy. In other words,
they should boycott theGames.
This issue has cometo the fore.this
year in the debate over U.S. partici–
pation in the Moscow Games. Propo–
nents of a U.S. boycott of the Games
observed tbat by signing the contract
with Moscow, the IOC violated its
own rule forbidding holding the
Games in countries where there is
racial, national, religious or política!
discrimination.
Soviet intervention in Afghanistan
added fue! to the fire. Boycott propo-
nents pointed to that action as fur–
ther proof that the Soviet Union is a
nation operating outside the accepted
international codes of civilized states.
If
the IOC refuses to remove the
Games from Moscow, they argued,
the United States should simply stay
home. This action would strike a
substantial blow to Soviet prestige .
and greatly diminish the value of the
Games as a media event.
In response, IOC officials declared
that sports and politics should not
mix. Lord Killanin, current president
of the IOC, lashed out at the pro–
posed U .S. boycott by asserting that
"the athletes come first and in no
way should be prevented from com–
peting in an international competi–
tion by political, racial or religious
discrimination." Concern such as
this on the part of the IOC, however,
sounded hollow to many who recalled
the IOC's countless blatant compro–
mises of principie in the past.
Solution Ahead
No one anticipates that these prob–
lems will quickly be solved. The
ongoing deterioration on the world
scene serves only to heighten and
intensify such controversies.
The Olympic Games reflect not
the ideal of universal brotherhood
but rather the stark reality of rivalry
and hatred among nations.
In the final analysis, the true
Olympic spirit cannot be realized
unless and until human nature itself
is changed! Man's own nature--of
vanity, jealousy, lust and greed–
prevents him from achieving peace
and international cooperation on
any
leve!.
Mankind has utterly failed to
bring that nature into rein. Near
6,000 years of war and international
strife are ample proof of that.
But the time is coming just ahead
when nations will at last be forced to
learn the
way
to peace and harmony.
And individuals will receive the
power from God to rein in their
human nature. For the exciting
details, wri te for our free booklet,
The Wonderful World Tomorrow–
What lt Wi/1 Be Like.
lnternational
cooperation
is
possible-but man–
kind will yet have to learn sorne hard
Iessons along the way.
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH