Monday, October 26, 2020
Saudi G20 event slammed over kingdom's treatment of women
By Adela Suliman
Human rights groups and democracy activists are calling on diplomats, politicians and blue chip companies like HSBC, Mastercard and PepsiCo to boycott a business conference launching this week in Saudi Arabia.
As current chair of the Group of 20 major economies, or G20, Saudi Arabia will be hosting the B20 business event from Monday, ahead of the summit of world leaders in November. The virtual business event promises to place a "special emphasis" on "creating a more equitable future for women in the business world," but rights groups say that flies in the face of the reality on the ground in the Persian Gulf kingdom, which has imprisoned women's rights activists. "Saudi Arabia's real change-makers are behind bars," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. "Leaders must not be fooled by this shameless hypocrisy, and we call on them to show they care about human rights as much as business opportunities." Saudi authorities arrested at least a dozen female activists in 2018, and rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say some have faced abuses while imprisoned, including electric shocks, flogging and sexual assault. Saudi Arabia has strenuously denied the allegations. Government officials did not respond to requests for comment. NBC News also approached HSBC, Mastercard, PepsiCo and other companies scheduled to attend for comment. At the time of publication, none had responded. Among the women who were detained is Loujain al-Hathloul, who was imprisoned after she campaigned for women to drive. Women's rights blogger Nouf Abdulaziz is also behind bars, as is Nassima al-Sada, who has worked to end the male guardianship system, which required a male relative's permission for women to travel or marry, among other things. Al-Hathloul's sister Lina announced the creation of a new website in honor of her sister on Monday morning, highlighting the activist's detention and work in winning Saudi women's right to drive and dismantling parts of the maleguardianship laws. While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — widely seen as the power behind the throne — has presented himself as a reformer, eager to transform the deeply conservative society, he has also presided over sweeping crackdowns on dissent, arresting intellectuals, clerics, women's rights activists and members of the vast royal family. A prominent critic of the crown prince, Madawi Al-Rasheed, a visiting professor at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics, welcomed the calls for a boycott. "The G20 offers the Saudi regime a platform towards the most economically powerful countries to normalize its repression of the population," she said, adding that the Saudi regime had "lost all its credibility and legitimacy." As part of the B20 event, the world's largest oil exporter said it would also create an "Action Council" to develop policy recommendations about issues such as gender parity and diversity in the workforce. The foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said in a video on Twitter last week that the Saudi government believed "that women are an important element of the strength of society, therefore they enjoy a firm guarantee in the Kingdom's laws and regulations." He added that the country would "take all measures" to ensure that "their rights are protected." After being appointed de facto ruler by his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, in 2017, the crown prince implemented a number of reforms as part of the country's "Vision 2030" campaign — a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil. Under his leadership, reforms were also introduced enabling women to drive, travel without permission and gain better access to jobs. The young crown prince has also relaxed social rules for cinemas and curbed the powers of religious police.
This year, Saudi Arabia was ranked as the top improver among 190 economies in the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2020 report, placing it second in the Arab world. While the bold social changes led to praise for the powerful young royal, Saudi Arabia's image abroad has been tarnished by the long war in neighboring Yemen. So far, it has killed over 100,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine. The brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, slain in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, by fellow Saudis, also damaged the country's international standing. In 2018 the CIA determined that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's killing — a finding firmly rejected by Riyadh. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-g20-event-slammed-over-kingdom-s-treatment-women-n1244624
As current chair of the Group of 20 major economies, or G20, Saudi Arabia will be hosting the B20 business event from Monday, ahead of the summit of world leaders in November. The virtual business event promises to place a "special emphasis" on "creating a more equitable future for women in the business world," but rights groups say that flies in the face of the reality on the ground in the Persian Gulf kingdom, which has imprisoned women's rights activists. "Saudi Arabia's real change-makers are behind bars," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. "Leaders must not be fooled by this shameless hypocrisy, and we call on them to show they care about human rights as much as business opportunities." Saudi authorities arrested at least a dozen female activists in 2018, and rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say some have faced abuses while imprisoned, including electric shocks, flogging and sexual assault. Saudi Arabia has strenuously denied the allegations. Government officials did not respond to requests for comment. NBC News also approached HSBC, Mastercard, PepsiCo and other companies scheduled to attend for comment. At the time of publication, none had responded. Among the women who were detained is Loujain al-Hathloul, who was imprisoned after she campaigned for women to drive. Women's rights blogger Nouf Abdulaziz is also behind bars, as is Nassima al-Sada, who has worked to end the male guardianship system, which required a male relative's permission for women to travel or marry, among other things. Al-Hathloul's sister Lina announced the creation of a new website in honor of her sister on Monday morning, highlighting the activist's detention and work in winning Saudi women's right to drive and dismantling parts of the maleguardianship laws. While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — widely seen as the power behind the throne — has presented himself as a reformer, eager to transform the deeply conservative society, he has also presided over sweeping crackdowns on dissent, arresting intellectuals, clerics, women's rights activists and members of the vast royal family. A prominent critic of the crown prince, Madawi Al-Rasheed, a visiting professor at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics, welcomed the calls for a boycott. "The G20 offers the Saudi regime a platform towards the most economically powerful countries to normalize its repression of the population," she said, adding that the Saudi regime had "lost all its credibility and legitimacy." As part of the B20 event, the world's largest oil exporter said it would also create an "Action Council" to develop policy recommendations about issues such as gender parity and diversity in the workforce. The foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said in a video on Twitter last week that the Saudi government believed "that women are an important element of the strength of society, therefore they enjoy a firm guarantee in the Kingdom's laws and regulations." He added that the country would "take all measures" to ensure that "their rights are protected." After being appointed de facto ruler by his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, in 2017, the crown prince implemented a number of reforms as part of the country's "Vision 2030" campaign — a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil. Under his leadership, reforms were also introduced enabling women to drive, travel without permission and gain better access to jobs. The young crown prince has also relaxed social rules for cinemas and curbed the powers of religious police.
This year, Saudi Arabia was ranked as the top improver among 190 economies in the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2020 report, placing it second in the Arab world. While the bold social changes led to praise for the powerful young royal, Saudi Arabia's image abroad has been tarnished by the long war in neighboring Yemen. So far, it has killed over 100,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine. The brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, slain in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, by fellow Saudis, also damaged the country's international standing. In 2018 the CIA determined that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's killing — a finding firmly rejected by Riyadh. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-g20-event-slammed-over-kingdom-s-treatment-women-n1244624
Mossad head: Saudi normalization ties close; post US election could see progress
By YONAH JEREMY BOB, AARON REICH
US-mediated normalization talks between Israel and Oman are reportedly close to achieving a breakthrough.
A normalization announcement between Israel and Saudi Arabia is close and there could be major developments following the US presidential elections depending on who wins, Mossad director Yossi Cohen has said in closed conversations, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning, N12 reported that Cohen had said privately to those around him that the Saudis were waiting until after the US election, but that they could potentially announce normalization as a “gift” to the winner.
The implication from the N12 report was that such an announcement could even come almost immediately after the election.However, the Post has learned that the N12 report either misunderstood or did not fully flesh out what Cohen had said.
What Cohen actually said to those around him was that if US President Donald Trump wins reelection, there could be an almost immediate announcement.
Yet, if as the polls suggest, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins the election, though the Saudis would still want a normalization deal with Israel, there would not necessarily be a clear timeline.Cohen had emphasized that the Saudis did not want to give a gift to Trump and then get nothing for it upon a Biden administration taking over the reins.
Rather, Cohen understands that a Biden administration may want to link normalization with the Saudis to progress with negotiations with the Palestinians – the opposite tactic of the Trump administration which is trying to pressure the Palestinians to show flexibility in negotiations with Israel by moving ahead with normalization deals without them.Further, Cohen would have acknowledged that the post-election situation in the US, especially if Biden is elected, would be far more uncertain regarding international relations in general, and that his estimate was based on knowing what the Saudis want and are ready for.
The normalization deal will also reportedly involve an arms deal between the US and Saudi Arabia, which could serve to cushion the move, Cohen said.
Normalized ties are something many in Israel and Saudi Arabia look forward to, with a recent poll by Zogby Research Services finding that nearly 80% of Saudis are in favor of working towards normalizing ties with Israel within the next five years.
This was reflective of another poll published by Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, which saw Saudi Arabia as the country with which most Israelis would like to next establish normalized ties.
In addition, it was also reported by N12 citing Israeli sources that US-mediated normalization talks between the Jewish state and Oman are close to achieving a breakthrough. In fact, these sources believe Oman is the most likely country to next normalize ties, though some believe Muscat will also take a more cautious approach and not sign anything until the election is over.
These announcements follow the ongoing wave of full relations being established between Israel and countries in the Arab world, with Sudan recently announcing a move towards normalization.
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/mossad-head-saudi-normalization-ties-to-be-announced-after-us-election-646828
پی ٹی آئی کی حکومت چند ماہ کی مہمان ہے، بلاول بھٹو زرداری
ان خیالات کا اظہار انھوں نے کھرمنگ میں انتخابی جلسے سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کیا۔
انھوں نے اپنے خطاب کے دوران کہا کہ اپوزیشن اتحاد پاکستان ڈیمو کریٹک موومنٹ (پی ڈی ایم) کے ذریعے ملک بھر میں جمہوریت بحال کریں گے۔
وفاقی حکومت پر تنقید کرتے ہوئے بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا تھا کہ پی ٹی آئی ایک جھوٹی جماعت ہے، جس کی ہر بات دھوکا اور یوٹرن نکلی ہے۔
ان کا یہ بھی کہنا تھا کہ پی ٹی آئی کی حکومت اب چند ماہ کی مہمان ہے۔
چیئرمین پی پی پی نے کہا کہ گلگت بلتستان کو تبدیلی کی تباہی سے بچانا ہے۔
ان کا یہ بھی کہنا تھا کہ یہاں سندھ کی طرح مفت علاج کے لیے اسپتال اور بے نظیر مزدور کارڈ لانا چاہتے ہیں۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/836876
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