West and Saudi's Petro Dollars

By Mohammad Ghaderi 

TEHRAN - Although Western countries have condemned the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Mohammad bin Salman, they are simultaneously trying to cover the unimaginable crime of the Saudis. 

Khashoggi, the Saudi Arabian journalist and author, entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018, but did not leave the building. Amid news reports claiming that he had been killed and dismembered inside, an inspection of the consulate, by Saudi Arabian and Turkish officials, took place on 15 October. Initially the Saudi Arabian government denied the death, claiming Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, but on 20 October admitted that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, claiming he had been strangled to death after a fight had broken out. This was later contradicted when, on 25 October, Saudi Arabia's attorney general stated that the murder was premeditated.

Although Western governments tried to show that they're severely against  this brutal act by bin Salman, sending signals about Saudi petrodollars by countries such as Germany, Britain and France have once again uncovered the true face of the European troika in the international system. Britain and France (along with the United States of America), as the three permanent members of the Security Council, who have veto power due to the unfair structure of the world today, prefer their "commercial interests" to any other factor, including the lives of innocent people. However, this time it's no more about Western governments; people all around the world raised to protest the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

No doubt, in this equation, Theresa May, Merkel, and Macron are no more than mere losers, and even Saudis' billions of petrodollars can't stop this process. Here are some points that should be accordingly taken into consideration:

The projection of the European authorities towards the murder of Khashoggi is quite noticeable. For example, as the Spiegel and other German sources reported, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she'll stop exporting arms to Riyadh until all the aspects of Jamal Khashoggi case is brightened. Although the German Chancellor may think that such a move is considered as a kind of humanitarian and anti-dictatorial gesture, but we're not to forget that Saudi Arabia has bought 416 million euros of military equipment from Germany since the beginning of 2018. According to existing evidences, after Algeria, Saudi Arabia is the second largest importer of weapons from Germany.

The next point is about the way West reacts to the Khashoggi case. Western authorities, such as Trump, have apparently condemned the kidnapping and murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by bin Salman and his men, while on the other hand, they has been repeatedly emphasizing their strong financial ties with Saudi Arabia! In other words, the European troika and even some other members of the European Union have shown that they lack the will to deal with the case of khashoggi's murder. The soft reaction of Western officials to the case of Jamal Khoshoggi once again challenged the selective and instrumental approach of human rights claimants to this issue. Meanwhile, governments and security officials in the West are using all their capabilities to prevent their citizens from "knowing more" about this case. The fact is that the governments of the United States and France have used both their public and secret diplomacy capabilities to prevent the murder of Khashoggi by Saudi Crown Prince from turning into a hot topic among their citizens.

Given that the "Saudi exoneration" project is no longer possible regarding his brutal murder and dismembering, the European troika has moved towards the project of "Managing Western Public Opinion" through adopting democratic gestures. However, this won't change the West's fundamental policy in support of Al Saud's crimes.

European players, especially the three countries of Germany, Britain and France, have spent a lot on organizing their "operational", "political" and "media" approach in the international system. But the power of the independent media, and the disclosures made by independent journalists on such cases, prevent the realization of this "hideous game." At the moment, those like Macron, Merkel and Theresa May should be held accountable for their coordination with Saudi Arabia in the killing of innocent people in Yemen, especially Yemeni children. Today, people around the world are carefully following the case of Jamal Khashoggi, and such public awareness is certainly not a good news for Western partners of Riyadh and supporters of Saudi Arabia's crimes in the West Asia region.