Reason enough
To the surprise of no one, Saudi Arabia uses armored vehicles against its own people, the Globe and Mail reports.
Footage analyzed by The Globe and Mail shows Saudi Arabia using armoured vehicles against minority Shia Muslim dissidents in the Mideast country’s Eastern Province, raising serious questions about Riyadh’s tendency to use these military goods against its own citizens.
Copies of the videos, which date from 2012 and 2015, were supplied by Saudi human-rights activists who want Canada to suspend shipments of combat vehicles to Riyadh in a $15-billion deal between Canada and the ruling House of Saud.
The Trudeau government in April approved export permits for the bulk of these vehicle shipments in what Ottawa calls the largest advanced manufacturing export contract in Canadian history. The vehicles, made in London, Ont., are expected to ship over four years, and will have machine guns and anti-tank cannons.
Ok…why? Why do Canada and the US and the UK help Saudi Arabia arm itself? It’s not because of “shared values.”
The combat vehicles in the videos are not Canadian-made, but they demonstrate the regime’s inclination to use such military assets against its own people in a region that is very difficult for Canada to monitor. It also casts doubt on the Liberal government’s assurances that the massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia presents no risks for the country’s civilians.
Ali Adubisi, director of the Berlin-based European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights, says Saudi authorities have deployed armoured vehicles against Shia civilians in Eastern Province more than 15 times since 2011.
He says this should be reason enough to strike Saudi Arabia from Canada’s list of arms buyers.
The Saudi government is not a friend.
Should not be giving modern kit to those savages… They can build it themselves or buy cold war extras…
Thanks for this. I live in London, Ontario; not a good reason to be in the news.I’ve written Prime Minister Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Dion and my local MP, Kate Young:
Hello;
The arms deal with Saudi Arabia should be cancelled. Initiated by the Harper Conservatives, it is now part of your legacy. Saudi Arabia has a horrible human rights record. Women in particular are virtual prisoners of ultra-conservative theocratic oppression. Years ago, Canada used trade sanctions to help pressure South Africa during the apartheid era. What happened to our principals? What happened to your principals? We are now aiding and abetting one of the most backward and repressive regimes on Earth. How does that square with Canadian values? How does this make our world a better place? Sure, there’s money to be made, but at what cost? Sure, my home town of London, Ontario is going to see some of this money, but it’s blood money. This isn’t just a trade deal, this is an arms deal. These weapons will be used, quite likely against their own citizens. They’ve done it before, they’ll do it again.
If our government was as repressive as Saudi Arabia’s, I would not want other countries to be selling arms that would be used to perpetuate and intensify that repression. This is not the time for business as usual. There are some things that come at too high a cost. This deal is one of them.