Let’s have a look at the beginning
of the Saudi-Canadian “spat”. In 2012 Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was charged
with "insulting
Islam through electronic channels", for which he was sentenced to 20 years
in prison and 10,000 lashes. The first 50 lashes were administered. Badawi’s
case should be of concern to all nations, but was followed particularly in
Canada, because his wife and children are Canadian citizens.
Saudi Arabia has
continued to arrest many other supporters of human and women’s rights,
including, last week, Raif’s sister Samar.
Last Friday, the
Canadian Foreign Ministry put out a single “tweet” on Twitter:
“Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests
of civil society and women’s rights activists in #SaudiArabia, including Samar Badawi. We urge the Saudi authorities
to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists.”
Saudi Arabia has
so far responded to this single comment by:
·
- Expelling Canada’s ambassador
- Freezing trade between the countries
- Withdrawing Saudi students from Canadian universities
- Removing any Saudi patients being treated in Canadian hospitals
- Selling all Canadian stocks at a loss
This
authoritarian country, which requires all women to have guardians and has no
free speech, does not anger me with these actions. I do not respect them enough
to feel angered by their behaviour. I simply feel pride that my country is
standing up for human rights.
However, I am
feeling some anger in another direction: at our “allies”. The western European
countries and the United States, who are supposed to share our values, and who
we have supported in the past. This is not a war: we are not asking for the
lives of their young men. All we would like is for their leaders to stand up
and say “Canada is right. Human rights are vital, and we also urge Saudi Arabia
to release peaceful activists.”
How many of our
allies have stood beside us so far? None. Zero. The U.S. says that both
countries are “friends” and “partners” of their country, and they won’t get
involved. The EU says that they don’t “comment on bilateral relations”. The UK
urged both sides to show restraint.
Canada is an
ally of these countries. We are a member of NATO, and have always been there to
help when needed. Saudi Arabia is not an ally, in any sense of the word. But it
appears that our “allies” are more concerned with losing access to Saudi oil
and money than they are with supporting Canada or human rights.
I never expected
that. Even after all I have seen in the world recently, I thought that people were better
than that. It is much more of an unpleasant surprise than the ridiculous
behaviour of the Saudis, and I feel both hurt and angry.
