Through Fire and Water, Harper Stands with Oppressive Regimes

 

 

By Yasser Harrak

Five months ago, Stephen Harper signed the longest weapons contract in Canada’s history with Saudi Arabia. The multibillion dollar sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia is a 14 year contract for military and commercial vehicles. The conservatives added a dark page to Canadian history by striking the longest arms deal contract in the country`s history with an oppressive dictatorship. A dictatorship that prohibits women from driving a car and adopts a medieval penal system where criminals and suspected criminals alike get stoned and decapitated in public. The oil intelligentsia argue that the human rights issue is an internal Saudi matter. They maintain that Saudi Arabia is so strategically important in the Middle East that Canada has no choice but to invest in strengthening bilateral relations. An argument that remains an attempt to cloud the true image of the Saudi regime with irrelevant facts. Who does not know that Saudi Arabia is a US client state enjoying flag and tradition independence while being a family ruled Western protectorate! A cow, as described by former US diplomat John Bolton, that gives a lot of milk. He undoubtedly meant the oil and cash flow of the corrupt royal family members that finds its ways to the US markets and banks.

The Independent, based in the UK, published on July 13, 2014 a speech by an ex-MI6 boss that hints at a plan going back over a decade where being a Shia Muslim in the Middle East is akin to being a Jew in Nazi Germany. The Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, former Saudi ambassador in Washington and head of Saudi intelligence until a few months ago, had a revealing conversation with the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove. Prince Bandar told him: "The time is not far off in the Middle East, Richard, when it will be literally 'God help the Shia'. More than a billion Sunnis have simply had enough of them." That statement is no different than saying Saudis have had enough of the black people or the Jews in the region. Canadians wonder how can Harper shake hands with political leaders in Saudi Arabia that say they have had enough of a religious minority in their region. Canadians also wonder how can the conservatives sign a deal to build military equipment used mainly to disperse demonstrations in favor of a cruel regime . Isn't Harper an accomplice with the Saudi rulers in all crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations where Canadian military equipment has been used?

The conservatives have been extremely busy collecting information on Canadians’ internet browsing history and listening to or tracking their phone calls. That reminds me of old Mafia extortion tactics where the criminal organization knows too much about the victims that they can no longer oppose it for fear of a scandal. Nowadays, revealing the browsing history of a doctor , a politician or a judge can be equivalent to publishing his nude pictures. It is not convincing to say that as the NDP grew stronger in competing against the Conservatives, the story of Jack Layton having visited a massage parlor unfolded by coincidence. As the conservatives continue to run this country, we can expect more and more of the scandal politics.

After all, the BA graduate foreign minister has no time left to browse the recent history of the Saudi regime he is befriending dearly. The Saudis hosted the most dangerous dictators and war criminals the world has ever known. Take the example of Idi Amin Dada. Amnesty International holds The later responsible for the extermination of half a million human being in Uganda. He died peacefully after enjoying a long life as a Saudi guest in King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center . This is not to mention other dictators that fled justice in Tunisia, Pakistan and other countries.

The strategic friends of Stephen Harper were home to the largest terrorism funding organizations. The Saudi Islamic Relief (al-Ighatha al-Islamiya) was in the international terrorist organizations list until December 2013. The US based News Week reported on April 16, 2003 that the people running The Islamic Relief were holding simultaneously key positions in the Saudi government. The head of the organization for example Al Sheikh was the Saudi religious jurist in charge of issuing state official religious rulings know also as Fatwas. The operations manager of that terrorist organization in the Philippines was the brother-in-law of Osama Bin Laden known by the name of Muhamad Jamal Khalifa. It is believed that he was the connection between the Saudi government and the Abu Sayyaf terrorist organization of the Philippines.

The Washington Post had published on November 29, 2006 a statement by Nawaf Abid – The Saudi King’s security advisor – saying that his country is determined to help the Sunni fighters in Iraq with money, arms and logistics in their revolt against the newly elected Iraqi government. At that time in particular and until the ISIS takeover of important cities in Iraq, the two parts engaging in war were the Iraqi government and the Al Qaeda linked groups. It is obvious that Harpers’ strategic friends are helping Al Qaeda linked groups exactly as they mentioned. They do not want a democratic Iraq and do fuel terrorism and sectarian violence using Canadian military equipment.

Some of the Wikileaks documents published by The Guardian on July 11, 2010 pointed out that Saudi Arabia was asking NATO states to help occupy Lebanon using an Arab army. Other Wikileaks documents revealed that Saudi Arabia used oil and even money to pressure countries like Morocco to crack down on Shia minorities and ban them from practicing their religion. That led to the arrest of thousands of Moroccan Shia Muslims for questioning in March 2009 on the grounds of their religious belief. No charges were laid against any of them. The Saudi interference in Moroccan affaires led also to unlawful home searches that scared innocent civilians. Shia Muslims heritage literature is banned in Morocco due the Saudi influence.

Stephen Harper’s strategic friends are world leaders in torture, extremism, terrorism, women and minority rights abuse. They have set study models in regional violence and corruption. Despite all this, through fire and water, Stephen Harper stands with the oppressive regimes.