Tell the truth to avoid speculation

Did the King of Bahrain, His Majesty Shaikh Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, really visit Saudi Arabia twice before and after last month's Gulf Cooperation Council summit for the sole purpose of "discussing the current developments in the region, headed by the Palestinian issue and the situation in Iraq, in addition to Arab, Islamic and world developments and the prospects of cooperation between the two sisterly countries in all areas?"

Believe it or not, this is what the official Saudi media had to say by way of information for us, the public.

If you had asked any Saudi or Bahraini what the real purpose of the visit was, he or she would have quickly told you. The entire world is aware of the disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It arose from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Bahrain.

Yet, our cliche-ridden official media keeps on churning out these outdated, meaningless phrases which give us absolutely no substantial information about why a foreign leader visited the Kingdom.

Fertile ground

No wonder these expressions open the door wide to rumours and guessing, providing fertile ground for both good and prejudiced analysts to weave stories and produce findings that may or may not reflect the truth.

If the public were given correct information, we would not find ourselves in the situation of wondering what is really going on.

I thought of these matters while reading excerpts from a speech by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who said: "We look for the best that suits our country. What is made by humans can be changed by humans. But what has been revealed and ordained by the Almighty will remain unchanged until the Day of Judgment. Anything is negotiable except our faith and our country's unity, integrity and security."

These words should serve as the platform from which all of us people and government should move forward. It is time the outdated and meaningless expressions that are no longer heeded by anyone gave way to something that really satisfies and convinces people.

The best way for achieving this would be to have an official Royal Palace spokesman. After a visit by a foreign leader or an important local development, he should step forward to tell Saudi citizens and others what had happened and who was involved.

No doubt some cynics will immediately ask: Can we really believe what the White House spokesman or the Downing Street one or the Elysee Palace one tells us? Of course not. The point is, however, that he is there, giving information and outlining his government's position and even, on many occasions, answering questions from the press. Such a practice does not leave much room for rumours.

We need a similar well-qualified individual who is able to tell the public and the world what they want to know. Were we to establish this position, we would be doing our country a great service at a time when the media is itself a very powerful weapon.

Qenan Al Ghamdi writes for the Saudi daily Al Watan.