Saudi King in Britain: Media Protests

A red carpet welcome awaits Saudi Arabian King Abdullah who arrives in the UK on Monday — marking the first state visit by a Saudi monarch for 20 years. The green flags of Saudi Arabia, displaying a sword and Islamic verses, are fluttering in the streets of London. The Saudi King will be the guest of Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and is due to meet British political leaders on Wednesday.

However, the British media has begun to howl in protest. The Independent writes: “… Gordon Brown and David Cameron will welcome the leader of one of the world’s most vicious dictatorships to Britain. Both men will embrace King Abdullah al-Saud, who heads a regime in which, according to Amnesty International, ‘Fear and secrecy permeate every aspect of life. Every day the most fundamental human rights of people in Saudi Arabia are being violated.

“Yet both political leaders refuse to make a commitment to even mention human rights to the king. Instead, he will ride in a golden carriage with the Queen, and be guest of honour at a Buckingham Palace banquet. It is the start of a three-day state visit, funded by the British taxpayer. The decision to lavish large sums and the rare prestige of a state visit on King Abdullah has attracted severe criticism in Westminster.

“The Liberal Democrats’ acting leader, Vincent Cable, has refused to attend the banquet. The Labour MP John McDonnell said: ‘We are feting this man because Saudi Arabia controls 25 per cent of the world’s oil, and because we sell him billions of pounds’ worth of weapons. It is an insult to everything Britain stands for to put these geopolitical concerns ahead of the rights of women, trade unionists and all Saudi people’.” More here…

Another article in the same newspaper looks at the Saudi king’s visit from another angle: “Pragmatism, not principle, defines relationship with regime seen as crucial ally in Middle East. ..British leaders have been prepared to live with the poor record on human rights abuses and the treatment of women by the Saudis because of what has been regarded as this country’s strategic and economic interests. Saudi Arabia, historically a close ally of the UK, is Britain’s largest export market in the region, buying goods and services worth more than £3.5bn annually.

“British financial interests in joint ventures in the desert kingdom are estimated to be worth £7bn, with HSBC, Shell and BAE Systems among recent investors. Some 20,000 Britons work in Saudi Arabia and countless thousands more in this country directly rely on Saudi orders for their living. In the world of realpolitik, there is a further argument for the Government in staying on good terms with the country that produces more than one-eighth of the world’s oil…”

According to the BBC: “The visit is the product of years of patient diplomacy and is an indication of how Saudi Arabia has become one of the UK’s closest allies in the Middle East. On Monday up to five planes are expected to touch down in the UK, bearing the octogenarian King Abdullah and an entourage of Saudi ministers, businessmen and journalists.”