CANADA MORE DEFIANT AS SAUDI FREEZES NEW TRADE OVER HUMAN RIGHTS CALL

[Zibago]

RIYADH/OTTAWA: Canada on Monday refused to back down in its defense of human rights after Saudi Arabia froze new trade and investment and expelled the Canadian ambassador in retaliation for Ottawa’s call to free arrested Saudi civil society activists.

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In her first public response to Saudi Arabia’s actions, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “Canada will always stand up for human rights in Canada and around the world, and women’s rights are human rights.”

Riyadh on Sunday recalled its ambassador from Canada and gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave. The Saudi government also banned new trade with Canada, although it was unclear if it would affect existing annual Saudi-Canadian trade of nearly $4 billion and a $13 billion defense contract.

The moves were a stern rebuke to Canada after the country on Friday expressed concern over the arrests of activists in Saudi Arabia, including prominent women’s rights campaigner Samar Badawi, and called for their release.

Riyadh said that amounted to “a blatant interference in the Kingdom’s domestic affairs, against basic international norms and all international protocols.”

Saudi Arabia’s sudden sharp response to criticism shows the limits of reforms by Saudi Arabia’s 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who runs its day-to-day government. He has launched a campaign of social and economic change, but has not eased the absolute monarchy’s total ban on political activism.

In recent months Saudi Arabia has lifted a ban on women driving, but it has also arrested activists, including more than a dozen high-profile campaigners for women’s rights.

In the first comments by Washington since the dispute erupted, a US State Department official said the United States had asked Riyadh for details on the detention of activists.

“We continue to encourage the government of Saudi Arabia to respect due process and to publicize information on the status of legal cases,” the official added.

Caught off guard
On Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir criticized Canada’s calls to free arrested civil society activists as a position built on “misleading” information.

The moves, carried on the official Saudi Press Agency, caught diplomats in Riyadh off guard. Both the Saudi and Canadian ambassadors were away on leave at the time.

The kingdom will suspend educational exchange programs with Canada and move Saudi scholarship recipients to other countries, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported on Monday.

“It would be a shame for those students if they are deprived of the opportunity to study here,” Freeland told reporters.

Neighbours and allies Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates said they stood with Riyadh, although they did not announce similar measures.

Saudi state airline Saudia said it was suspending flights to and from Toronto, Canada’s largest city.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a loose association of the six Gulf Arab countries, the Arab League and Palestine also supported Saudi policy. But Qatar, which has been locked in a diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia and other neighbours for over a year, said on its foreign ministry’s official Twitter account that the GCC secretary general’s statement did not represent its view of the situation.

 

[Trango Towers]

Not a fan of saudi regime but here i agree with the saudis. I dont see canada standing up for palestine kashmir or is it the rights where canada chooses

 

[El Sidd]

#CapslockMassacre

 

[Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen]

They got a little cocky after they bought F-15 from America. Mess with the white man and they will see what happens.

 

[Dalai Lama]

Typical Canadian self righteous attitude. They'll come around. Canadians only care for money, all the rest is bs.

 

[xyxmt]

They got a little cocky after they bought F-15 from America. Mess with the white man and they will see what happens.

same as what happened with UAE last year
Saudis are 5 times bigger than UAE

 

[denel]

Good for Canada. KSA needs to get its fiefdom in order first.

 

[maximuswarrior]

Selective outrage by the Canadians.

 

[Jlaw]

Typical Canadian self righteous attitude. They'll come around. Canadians only care for money, all the rest is bs.

Actually you guys are seeing the most incompetent federal government in all of Canada's history. White Canadians who run the show are similar in nature to Indians. They like to talk but don't actually do anything about anything.

 

[Thorough Pro]

Standing up for Human rights? Let's see which country snatched away millions of young kids from their local Indian parents and sent them away for forced learning of alien culture and values so they don't follow / learn their own original and centuries old culture and values. Hint: It was not KSA.

RIYADH/OTTAWA: Canada on Monday refused to back down in its defense of human rights after Saudi Arabia froze new trade and investment and expelled the Canadian ambassador in retaliation for Ottawa’s call to free arrested Saudi civil society activists.

ADVERTISEMENT
In her first public response to Saudi Arabia’s actions, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “Canada will always stand up for human rights in Canada and around the world, and women’s rights are human rights.”

Riyadh on Sunday recalled its ambassador from Canada and gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave. The Saudi government also banned new trade with Canada, although it was unclear if it would affect existing annual Saudi-Canadian trade of nearly $4 billion and a $13 billion defense contract.

The moves were a stern rebuke to Canada after the country on Friday expressed concern over the arrests of activists in Saudi Arabia, including prominent women’s rights campaigner Samar Badawi, and called for their release.

Riyadh said that amounted to “a blatant interference in the Kingdom’s domestic affairs, against basic international norms and all international protocols.”

Saudi Arabia’s sudden sharp response to criticism shows the limits of reforms by Saudi Arabia’s 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who runs its day-to-day government. He has launched a campaign of social and economic change, but has not eased the absolute monarchy’s total ban on political activism.

In recent months Saudi Arabia has lifted a ban on women driving, but it has also arrested activists, including more than a dozen high-profile campaigners for women’s rights.

In the first comments by Washington since the dispute erupted, a US State Department official said the United States had asked Riyadh for details on the detention of activists.

“We continue to encourage the government of Saudi Arabia to respect due process and to publicize information on the status of legal cases,” the official added.

Caught off guard
On Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir criticized Canada’s calls to free arrested civil society activists as a position built on “misleading” information.

The moves, carried on the official Saudi Press Agency, caught diplomats in Riyadh off guard. Both the Saudi and Canadian ambassadors were away on leave at the time.

The kingdom will suspend educational exchange programs with Canada and move Saudi scholarship recipients to other countries, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported on Monday.

“It would be a shame for those students if they are deprived of the opportunity to study here,” Freeland told reporters.

Neighbours and allies Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates said they stood with Riyadh, although they did not announce similar measures.

Saudi state airline Saudia said it was suspending flights to and from Toronto, Canada’s largest city.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a loose association of the six Gulf Arab countries, the Arab League and Palestine also supported Saudi policy. But Qatar, which has been locked in a diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia and other neighbours for over a year, said on its foreign ministry’s official Twitter account that the GCC secretary general’s statement did not represent its view of the situation.

 

[Sugarcane]

This Human Rights thing is biggest scam of 21st century.

 

[Jlaw]

Standing up for Human rights? Let's see which country snatched away millions of young kids from their local Indian parents and sent them away for forced learning of alien culture and values so they don't follow / learn their own original and centuries old culture and values. Hint: It was not KSA.

If you put it that way than Europeans are the only race that has committed genocide. An american author whose name I can't recall at the moment estimated 100 million indigenous people from north and south America were killed by Europeans virtually wiping them out.
But if you ask them they will use Mao as a scapegoat.

 

[gambit]

This Human Rights thing is biggest scam of 21st century.

Then ignore it. Simple as that. I strongly encourage all governments who believes as you do -- that the concept of basic human rights is a scam -- to PUBLICLY denounce the concept and state they will not abide by it. Simple as that.

 

[Sugarcane]

Then ignore it. Simple as that. I strongly encourage all governments who believes as you do -- that the concept of basic human rights is a scam -- to PUBLICLY denounce the concept and state they will not abide by it. Simple as that.

You only need to strongly discourage your government not to interfere in matters of other countries, As far as Human Rights are concerned, it's the fact that a Right as basic as to live free and die natural death is also conditional, these conditions vary from country to country and situation to situation no matter in which area of globe you live. So, better let the countries and their people to decided the right and condition to claim the entitlement of these rights as they deem fit for their culture and society instead of riding on flying pigs with your code of conduct and forcing others to follow it.

 

[420canada]

To the guy who said sadis have f-15.
We got cf-18 old but still will shiot down any saudi pilot