Defiant Trudeau to Saudi Arabia: We Will Not Compromise on Human Rights

Local Editor

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has revealed he will not compromise on his country’s human rights stance, amid an ongoing diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia, despite also hoping to improve relations with the Gulf state.

Trudeau’s comments come days after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia suspended diplomatic relations with Canada and expelled the Canadian Ambassador following a series of tweets from the Canadian government, which criticized the arrest of certain social activists in the Gulf kingdom.

The tweets have instigated a diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and Canada, spearheaded by Canada’s censure of the kingdom’s human rights record.

The feud, which has resulted in the suspension of direct Saudi flights to Canada, is showing no signs of easing following a quarrel that was exacerbated by Canada’s foreign minister’s criticism of the recent arrests of 11 prominent human rights activists in Saudi Arabia.

When asked about the diplomatic dispute on Monday, Trudeau said: “We continue to engage diplomatically, but as I’ve said, Canada will always be very clear on standing up for human rights.”

He added: “We will make sure that message is clear in public and private.

“But of course we look to improve relations while remaining firm in our values.”

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her department’s tweets triggered the spat 10 days ago.

The ensuing fiasco took Canada’s officials by surprise - they say the tweets protesting the detention of female critics of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, were not unusual and amounted to routine critiquing of the Saudi human rights record.

A spokesman for Freeland revealed the minister was still trying to get more clarity from the Saudi government about the measures it was taking – clarity that remained elusive nearly a week after the dispute began.

Freeland’s spokesman said she had a phone call on Tuesday with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, and officials had been in touch since.

Since the initial tweets were sent out by Freeland, Saudi Arabia has taken steps to cancel the scholarships of almost 15,000 Saudi students studying at Canadian colleges and universities.

The Gulf kingdom has also stopped the Saudi state airline’s direct flights to and from Canada, blocked new trade deals with Canadian businesses and banned the import of Canadian wheat.

In a scathing interview with Saudi’s state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya, former Canadian Conservative Foreign Minister John Baird said: “For Canada to treat a friend and ally this way has been tremendously unhelpful and disappointing.”

He added if Canada had concerns it should have raised them directly with Saudi Arabia, not in public.

Commenting on his direct relationship with the Saudi government during his tenure, Baird said: “We had respectful discussions face to face, not hectoring tweets.”

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team