Sweden vs Saudi Arabia
The Swedish government this week decided to scrap an arms
deal with Saudi Arabia, effectively bringing to an end a decade-old defence
agreement with the kingdom. The move followed complaints made by the Swedish
Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom that she was blocked by the Saudis from
speaking about democracy and women's rights at a gathering of the Arab League in
Cairo.
Tensions between Stockholm and Riyadh have grown so acute
that Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Sweden on Wednesday. The Swedish
foreign ministry had published Wallstrom's planned remarks in Cairo, which made
no specific reference to Saudi Arabia but did urge reform on issues of women's
rights. Nevertheless, the Saudi foreign ministry deemed the statement
"offensive" and "blatant interference in its internal
affairs," according to the BBC.
Saudi Arabia bought some $39 million in Swedish military
equipment last year alone. The kingdom recently became the world's biggest arms
importer; it's Sweden's third-largest non-Western customer for weapons. That Sweden's centre-left government has chosen to risk that
sort of investment — and the ire of prominent business leaders at home — marks
an important moment. For decades, Saudi Arabia's vast energy reserves and
strategic position in the Middle East have led Western countries to politely
skirt around the issue of the kingdom's draconian religious laws and woeful
human rights record. "This shows a break in the 50-year view in the West of
'We can’t touch Saudi Arabia,'" said Ali al-Ahmed, director of the
Washington-based Institute of Gulf Affairs, which is often critical of internal
Saudi policies.
The double-standard in Western attitudes toward Saudi Arabia
has looked particularly glaring in the past year. After the Islamic State began
decapitating American hostages in its custody, Saudi Arabia — a key ally in the
US-led coalition against the jihadists — carried out beheadings of inmates on
death row.
American politicians routinely hurl invective against Iran,
accusing the Islamic Republic of fomenting terrorism abroad and maintaining a
tyranny at home. But Saudi Arabia has an even less democratic system than that
in Tehran, and as the chief incubator of orthodox Salafism, has played
its own unique role in the rise of fundamentalist terror groups around the
Middle East and South Asia.
Sweden's Wallstrom, meanwhile, has emerged as an outspoken
figure, not averse to taking moral stands. The Saudis apparently were concerned
about her remarks because last year, Sweden became one the most high-profile
European countries to officially recognize Palestine as an independent state.
Wallstrom said at the time that the move was intended to "support those
who believe in negotiations and not violence," but it was widely interpreted
as a rebuke to the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.
It also showed up a host of Arab states, some of whom have
long postured as champions of the Palestinian cause but have done little
to improve their plight. "Saudi Arabia and other countries start losing their
edge as the main political voices on behalf of the Palestinians," said
al-Ahmed. "A country like Sweden can now come in and say, 'Hey, Riyadh,
what have you done for the Palestinians lately?' " Sweden's decision came after months of
"nail-biting," reports Bloomberg's Leonid Bershidsky. But it's likely
just the start of a larger European conversation regarding the ethics of
dealing with Saudi Arabia.
