Okay, you can exclude the United States and the United Kingdom. They're what people used to call "fair weather friends." If you can't count on their support for something relatively inconsequential such as the Saudi crown prince's hissy fit against Canada you know they'll be nowhere to be found if something really serious befalls our nation.
The European Union, however, has done what London and Washington did not.
The European Union has asked Saudi Arabia to shed light on the arrests and charges facing women human rights activists, saying that the detainees should be granted due process to defend themselves.
Saudi Arabia has in recent months detained several women's rights activists, some of whom had campaigned for the right to drive and an end to the kingdom's male guardianship system.
"The EU has been engaging constructively with the Saudi authorities seeking clarification on the circumstances surrounding the arrests of women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, notably with regard to the specific accusations brought against them," spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
"We have been emphasising the relevance of the role of human rights defenders and civil society groups in the process of reform which the Kingdom is pursuing as well as the importance of respecting the rules of due process for all those arrested," she said.
Earlier on Saturday, Mogherini spoke to Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on the phone, with both sides agreeing to intensify their cooperation in human rights as well as other areas.Knowing which nations can be counted on and which cannot is going to be increasingly vital in the near future. Things like this Saudi tiff can be a real litmus test of affinity.
7 comments:
So, has MbS "attacked" the EU? No? Guess he's really stepped in it this time.
And, pissed-off a lot of students (the up-and-coming professional generation) at the same time.
UU
He "attacked" Sweden and Germany last year, and they responded by cutting off all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, then adding to the UN pressure on Yemen.
BTW - It's good to know someone still has principles.
UU
.. presumably, the Saudi students are cream of the crop, in order to get Kingdom funded scholorships.. a fair emphasis on health sciences it seems among the thousands of students and support people order to return home.
This morning I came across a written statement.. not yet verified via the founding students. But the gist was, with utmost respect to the grand pooba's of the two Holy Mosques, a certain faction is mortified to find their professional careers, research and degrees caught in the crossfire and debris of this human rights 'incident'.
My impression is that if validated, some of these students don't want to see see their investment and in many cases, imminent degrees etc simply abandoned.. ie some of them will not go home as directed. Of course, Their passports, visas, funding will be cancelled which would mean they have to become refugees, or defectors. just like a Cuban baseball player at the O,ympics for example. I understand some universities and schools in Canada have already offered support - accomodations and educational assistance.
Of course, Saudi oil will still arrive at the Irving refinery.. and expectations are the war wagons will continue to be delivered.
Keep in mind the sheer duplicity or lack of comprehension (I go with duplicity and deceit) shared by Harper et al and then Trudeau et al. The one saying "they're just transports" and the other claiming "they're just jeeps" when communicating with Canadian media and therefore, the Canadian public and electorate. Try as I may, I can find no election promise or explanation from the Harper Government of why the PM thought military hardware and arms manufacturing, supply & export would be a 'key driver of Canada's economy and economic growth'. As always, Harper was quick to agree to heavy penalties for failure to deliver. And signing a secret deal in Vladivostok, Russia - with the Chinese and such dark strings attatched was standard operating procedure for that pompous PM. He wanted to be a 'player' & get a little military street cred and camo clothing for his legacy trunk
This Saudi idiocy is getting ugly fast.. we have the grotesque reality of parasitic golf president shooting his mouth off every day & tweeting by night. We are finding ourselves stuffed into a shite sandwitch - as blatent rascism, old stock - white snot losers emerge from under the rocks.. and in Amerika they are carrying guns. Russia and China just get to keep on grinning !
I've wondered what awaits those who refuse bin Salman's "order" to leave Canada ASAP. The despotic regime appears to believe it commands their absolute fealty and can direct every aspect of their lives. He must've thought he was on a roll when he rounded up all his uncles and cousins, put them under house arrest in some six star hotel, and shook them down to line his own pocket. He may just be overplaying his hand this time. We shall see.
But they didn't use Twitter ... duh
I imagine most of them will return for their families safety.
All this silliness about tweete. We have heard it before; radio news instead of newspapers; tv news instead of radio, blogs instead of magazines. It is all just information.
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