Saudis pledge allegiance to new King Abdullah

RIYADH - New King Abdullah has pledged to rule with justice as thousands of Saudis thronged into a marble-lined palace to offer allegiance in a ceremony which marked the transition of power from the late King Fahd.

Sunnis and Shi'ites, soldiers and tribal leaders, young and old, queued to express support for their new monarch who is assuming the throne of the world's biggest oil exporter and the cradle of Islam.

Abdullah was de facto ruler for the past 10 years until Fahd's death on Monday. He takes over a country booming as a result of record oil prices but facing a sustained challenge from militant Islamists opposed to the pro-Western royal family.

In a televised statement after the ceremony, Abdullah promised to rule with righteousness and justice and "to serve all people without discrimination ... I ask you to be my strength and that you support me. "I am assuming responsibility after the death of the dear one and I feel that the burden is heavy and that the trust is great," he added.

The ceremony in the marble-lined Great Hall of the governor's palace in Riyadh came as Abdullah also accepted condolences from Arab and international leaders who continued to arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday to pay their respects.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined European royalty, including Sweden's King Carl Gustav and Britain's Prince Charles, to meet Abdullah in Riyadh.

"We are here to pledge our allegiance to the new king ... We want to tell him that if he went into the ocean, we would follow him," said Saif al-Qahtani, a 45-year-old member of the royal court as he waited with others to pledge support.

Some saluted, others shook Abdullah's hand and many kissed their new leader on the shoulder or hand in a traditional sign of respect and loyalty.

The two-day ceremony of allegiance in Riyadh was being replicated across the kingdom, home to Islam's holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina, as regional governors accepted pledges of support in Abdullah's name from ordinary Saudis.

Fahd was buried on Tuesday after a 23-year reign marked by regional wars, sharp fluctuations in the kingdom's prosperity and a campaign of violence in the past two years by supporters of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The king, who enjoyed enormous wealth and privilege during his lifetime, was laid to rest like his predecessors in an unmarked grave in a public Riyadh cemetery, alongside hundreds of other plain graves dug into the dirt.

Abdullah, known as a cautious reformer, is expected to maintain Saudi Arabia's stated aim of stabilising runaway oil prices and rebuilding ties with the United States damaged by the Sept. 11 attacks carried out by mainly Saudi hijackers in 2001.

He launched an unprecedented crackdown on al Qaeda after suicide bombers began a wave of attacks against Saudi and Western targets in 2003 aimed at destabilising the kingdom and toppling the pro-US House of Saud.

Abdullah has also begun to liberalise the state-dominated economy and has led efforts to win accession to the World Trade Organisation. Saudi Arabia remains one of the largest economies still outside the WTO.

He has initiated limited political change in the absolute monarchy, overseeing nationwide elections for local councils. Critics dismiss the men-only, partial vote as a sham and point out that four months on, none of the councils has been set up.

"We have started a process of change in terms of education and sharing opinions with each other," Deputy Education Minister Khaled Dohaish told Reuters.

Abdullah's age -- both he and his heir, Crown Prince Sultan, are octogenarians -- has raised doubts over whether future successions in Saudi Arabia will be as smooth as his own.

Analysts say that unless the royal family can agree to move on to a younger generation of princes it faces a series of brief reigns by elderly kings and possible infighting.

Officials dismiss those fears, saying the monarchy has proved it can unite around a leader.

Abdullah will also meet US Vice President Dick Cheney and former President George Bush, who sent half a million troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990 to recapture of Kuwait from Iraq.

- REUTERS