Saudi Arabia

I agree - and as well as this, I’m following in the Guardian the continuing plight of the young women protesters in SA who are in prison and possibly being tortured. I remember when the driving ban was ‘lifted’ and some GNers were quite frankly politically naive enough to think this was the dawn on a new era. Instead the young women who led the protests are some of these now in prison. The Guardian writer says it’s very important to the regime that protest is seen not to work and that any changes are seen as a gift from the regime.

I like others am sickened by our relationship with SA and that’s before I start on about Yemen. What a grubby dirty little country we sometimes are. And the royal family, especially Camilla I believe, has dirty grubby gifted Saudi jewellery in her collection. Yuk

Read this and feel free to throw up - preferably over the nearest member of the RF

www.standard.co.uk/news/camillas-rubies-the-saudi-prince-and-a-very-peculiar-protocol-7264942.html

absolutely sickening

We should break off all ties to such a barbaric country, even if it does mean loss of some security intelligence. And it will. But we should suck it up.

If you contact HQ maddyone they would probably change the heading of this thread.

At least they will be absolutely stuffed when we in the West change to electric cars. Roll on.

GG54 - we could all look up the meaning of altruistic but I for one would like to know your definition.

EllenVannin - those atrocities that you mention are crimes in the UK. Many of them are committed across borders and solving them will prove to be more difficult should we leave the EU because co-operation is likely to be one of those things (like so many others) that will become more difficult.

Thanks Gonegirl, I’ve just done that.

I too think we shouldn’t trade with Saudi Arabia until such time as they stop some their particularly abhorrent practices. If no pressure is ever brought to bear, where is the incentive to stop? I remember back in the 70s I didn’t buy anything which came from South Africa because I believed apartheid was/is wrong. However, the fact that South African goods were in the shops showed that as a country we still traded when them. It seems somewhat more complicated with Saudi, when I fill my car, I don’t know where the petrol originated, unlike the fruit in the 70s, which had the country of origin plainly in sight. Since I also don’t sell weapons, I feel that there’s little I/we can do, the changes and pressures have to come the from big boys, ie the government, banks, manufacturers of weapons etc. Only then might we see change.

But I still feel that if these awful things were reported more widely, the general public would be properly aware, and just maybe, their revulsion of such events might bring pressure on our government.

maddy the vast majority of out oil comes from Norway. By a huge amount more than SA.

Thanks for that Whitewave.

Read about the young men, including the one in GG's link (so very young, still boys to me) executed, forced confessions under torture, they hadn't really done anything wrong, taking part in demonstrations, or something completely innocuous. Just hideous in the harshness of the sentence, and if it isn't bad enough beheading someone, they then crucify the remains in some cases. Too barbaric for words.

SAis already facing financial problems and the money - and oil - is running out. There are so many and bigger oil producers in the world that the days when OPEC under the leadership of Saudi could hold the world to ransome and control prices has long gone.

Why do you think that one of the first actions of the Crown Prince, when he began to wield power was to lock up all the richest movers and shakers in the Royal Family in the local Hilton until they coughed up many billions of £, described as unpaid taxes, in ransom payments for their freedom?

Well I wish he’d hold Camilla hostage until she coughed up that hideous jewellery to add to his depleted coffers.

It's absolutely despicable and the thought that we consider this country as our "ally", and sell arms to it, repels me.

I agree with the various measures being taken by some individuals and organisations to boycott Brunei's various business holdings due to its re-introduction of barbaric laws, but I wish similar measures were put forward to isolate Saudi Arabia too.