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’shared values’

According to the BBC, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells told a conference ahead of the state visit by Saudi leader king Abdullah that the two states could unite around their ’shared values’.

Even allowing for the government’s casual attitude to human rights, kidnapping rendition and second-hand torture, the statement beggers belief — especially coming from a minister who famously ‘never understood the attraction of royalty’.

Apart from the price of oil and al-Yamamah, exactly which values are we meant to share with a corrupt absolute monarchy, which not only does not allow religious freedom but actively promotes religious fanaticism; which oppresses women to the point where they’re not allowed to drive, never mind vote; which imprisons without trial and tortures; which carries out public mutilations and executions — for adultery; which … Oh, for fuck’s sake, you can see what I mean.

This entry was posted on 30 October 2007 at 9:27 pm and is filed under Saudi Arabia, al-Yamamah, bribery, human rights, religious freedom, rendition, royalty, torture with tags , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “’shared values’”

  1. more ’shared values’ « the durruti column Says:
    21 November 2007 at 11:47 am

    [...] the time of the recent state visit by Saudi leader king Abdullah, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells said that the UK and Saudi Arabia could unite around their ’shared [...]

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