Key rejects Saudi, IS comparisons
Prime Minister John Key rejected comparisons between Saudi Arabia’s justice system and public beheadings by Islamic State, ahead of a historic visit this week.
On the first visit by a New Zealand prime minister, Key’s priority is securing a free trade pact, but criticism of the authoritarian regime’s human rights record could overshadow the talks in Riyadh tomorrow.
‘‘We will be talking to them about [human rights]. I am obviously the first New Zealand prime minister to go to Saudi Arabia, so that puts me in the position to absolutely be able to make that point to the senior leadership,’’ Key said.
More than 50 people have this year been killed by the regime, which leaves corpses on public display as a gruesome crime deterrent.
Key previously said of Islamic State: ‘‘I will not, will not, stand by while . . . people are out there being beheaded.’’
The Saudi government defends its use of the death penalty as justice is carried out in line with Islamic religious (Sharia) law.
Floggings and the amputation of limbs are used as punishment.
The Gulf Co-operation Council is New Zealand’s fifth largest trading partner with $1.9 billion worth of exports a year. A deal that removes tariffs is worth at least $50m a year. Securing it hinges on Saudi support.
A trade agreement was in the works under the previous Labour Government but negotiations stalled in 2009 when New Zealand refused to lift a moratorium on live sheep exports.
In Dubai on Sunday, Key addressed a chamber of commerce event and visited a supermarket which stocks 78 Kiwi products, including cheese, chocolate and seafood. He went to Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and met United Arab Emirates prime minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The UAE supports the free trade pact but ‘‘the real power base rests with Saudi Arabia’’, Key said.
Critics say there should be no tradeoff between human rights and economic interests, particularly as New Zealand now holds a temporary seat on the UN Security Council.
‘‘Most New Zealanders do not want us to do being trade deals with countries that behead their citizens,’’ Green MP Catherine Delahunty.
‘‘We should be setting ourselves better standards and drawing a line in the sand when it comes to who we are willing to sign trade deals with.’’
Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman David Shearer said a trade boycott would have no impact on nations with a poor rights record.
‘‘We would make no difference to those countries in terms of their actions,’’ he said.