Statement

We continue to see the House of Saud’s blatant anti-Muslim policies pursued by the regime under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Saudi Arabia has now become the financers of all US colonial policies in the Middle East and beyond. Not only are they handing over money to finance US wars but they are also financing the USA by buying arms for the specific purpose of getting Muslims to kill Muslims and targeting innocent civilians in Yemen and elsewhere. At the same time Saudi Arabia deliberately ignores and even undermines the cries of Palestinians, Kashmiris and the Rohingya in Myanmar.

The Saudi regime is paying millions to market itself with a new liberal mask but the reality of the oppression of ordinary Saudis is clear. Thousands of political prisoners are rotting away in jail and countless facing execution. The regimes domestic tyranny exposes its hypocrisy and the mask of liberalism for those who want to look beyond the regimes public relations exercise.

At the same time we see the Saudi regime is becoming more aggressive in its efforts to control the Arab League and OIC (which has traditionally had its headquarters in Saudi) claiming that they seek stability and peace; their actions are having complete opposite effect. They are promoting conflict where there should be harmony and tranquillity. The OIC in particular was created to support the Palestinian cause but is now under the influence and leadership of the Saudis who have abandoned the Palestinians and become promoters of the Zionist regime. It warrants the whole of the Muslim world and OIC member states to recognise that to support and liberate Palestine, the OIC must first be liberated from Saudi leadership.

We have to recognise that without holding regimes like Saudi accountable, we will not be able to hold others – like the Zionist regime and oppressive colonial powers – accountable.

Digest

On Sunday last week, the Arab League summit called for an international probe into the “criminal” use of chemical weapons in Syria and condemned what it saw as Iran’s interference in the affairs of other countries.The meeting opened only 24 hours after a barrage of strikes launched by the United States, Britain and France hit targets they said were linked to chemical weapons development in Syria, which was suspended from the league seven years ago.

Leaders at the Arab League summit havefailed to discuss the US-led strikes that came as a result of the “criminal” alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar have previously issued statements in support of the action while Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon expressed concern.

Saudi Arabia continues to commit widespread violations of basic human rights. The most pervasive violations affect persons in the criminal justice system, women and girls, migrant workers, and religious minorities. Persecution of peaceful dissidents and independent human rights advocates is widespread. The Saudi -led coalition in Yemen has also committed numerous violations of international humanitarian law since it began military operations in March 2015.