Big power games and murder of Saudi journalist
The story of how a Saudi Arabian-born contributor to the Washington Post went ‘ missing’ during a visit to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey has sent shock waves throughout the world. Saudi Arabia has finally, after several days, admitted that the journalist was slain inside the consulate. The audacity with which the alleged murder was carried out, trying to pathetically imitate the more sophisticated Israeli secret service, Mossad, has caused embarrassment to both fair- minded Saudi and US citizens alike – and deep revulsion among the citizens of the world.
Whether the House of Saud that runs the kingdom can get away with murder remains to be seen. The answer would most likely be a ‘ yes’. A few years ago, the United States went the extra mile to find those behind the brutal killing of a Wall Street Journal journalist in Pakistan. The mastermind of that heinous crime is languishing at the dreaded US prison camp at Guantanamo. But in the case of the Saudi journalist, there seems to be some plea-bargaining going on. Admit the crime and get off with a light sentence.
The reason is simple. Mammon – the god of money is at play. Saudi Arabia has it, and the US wants it. So many human rights abuses have taken place in the kingdom, the custodian of the holiest of holy sites of Islam. These violations have deftly been ignored by countries sermonising on the subject elsewhere in the world.
The kingdom has exported sectarian violence, especially in Yemen with the help of not only the US, but also Britain. Hundreds are dying there as a result right now. Where there are arms and business contracts, there are no human rights issues. It is not for nothing they have earned the reference; the ‘rapacious West’. But Russia is joining the club and now looking for entre’, should the US distance itself from the Saudis. So, it’s all superpower games once again.
At the recently held media event marking the 20th anniversary of the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility, the representative from the Vienna- based International Press Institute (IPI) referred to the number of journalists killed around the world -- 100 over the past 12 months. Shockingly, more are killed in non-combat zones.
While Saudi Arabia ranks a dismal 161 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index – 19th worst in the world, Turkey where the horrendous crime occurred is no better. They are placed at 157. Last year, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers ( WAN- IFRA) called upon Turkey to free all journalists jailed in that country, dozens of them, and to ensure a free press.
Did the Saudis feel the impunity against journalists in Turkey gave them the licence to commit such a crime against one of their own critics? Or was it just plain and simple, their petro-dollar arrogance on show.
The issue is more than just a statistic; and even more than a murder of a journalist. It has become a diplomatic and human rights quagmire. But eventually, it will be just another statistic after a temporary dust storm over the oil rich Saudi desert.