Here is yet another sign that the “modernization” of Saudi Arabia is more appearance than reality.
“Saudi Arabia expels Canadian ambassador and freezes all trade after Ottawa calls for jailed activists to be freed,” by Khaleda Rahman, Mailonline, August 6, 2018:
Saudi Arabia said it was expelling the Canadian ambassador and had recalled its envoy in protest at Ottawa’s vigorous calls for the release of jailed women’s rights activists.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also said it would freeze ‘all new business’ between the kingdom and Canada. Some 10 percent of Canadian crude oil imports come from Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, the kingdom gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country, in an abrupt rupture of relations over what it slammed as ‘interference’ in its internal affairs.
‘The Canadian position is an overt and blatant interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,’ the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in an extraordinarily aggressive statement posted on Twitter.
‘The kingdom announces that it is recalling its ambassador to Canada for consultation.
‘We consider the Canadian ambassador to the kingdom persona non grata and order him to leave within the next 24 hours.’
The ministry also announced ‘the freezing of all new trade and investment transactions with Canada while retaining its right to take further action.’
It added: ‘Any further step from the Canadian side in that direction will be considered as acknowledgment of our right to interfere in the Canadian domestic affairs.
‘Canada and all other nations need to know that they can’t claim to be more concerned than the kingdom over its own citizens.’…
The move, which underscores a newly aggressive foreign policy led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, comes after Canada demanded the immediate release of human rights campaigners swept up in a new crackdown.
Marie-Pier Baril, a spokeswoman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, said Canada was ‘seriously concerned’ by Saudi Arabia’s actions.
‘Canada will always stand up for the protection of human rights, very much including women’s rights, and freedom of expression around the world,’ she said in a statement. ‘Our government will never hesitate to promote these values and believes that this dialogue is critical to international diplomacy.’
The dispute appears centered around tweets by Canadian diplomats calling on the kingdom to ‘immediately release’ women’s rights activists recently detained by the kingdom….