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Are Saudis Oppressing Their Own Citizens With Canadian-Made Armored Cars?

Reuters

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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The Trudeau government is “deeply concerned” that Saudi Arabia might be using Canadian-made armored cars to oppress Saudi citizens.

Global Affairs Canada issued a statement Friday night that described minister Chrystia Freeland asking for officials to review the claim. “If it is found that Canadian exports have been used to commit serious violations of human rights, the Minister will take action,” she said.

The suggestion that Saudi Arabia is using the LAVs against its own population stems from a Reuters report that at least five people are dead after Saudi forces began a counter-insurgency operation in the eastern part of the country to seek and destroy Shiite Muslims, the minority Islamic group in Saudi Arabia.

The Qatar province, rich in oil, has been the scene of escalating conflict between the Saudi army and Shiite militants who hold grievances with the Sunni Muslim majority.

There was no hint as to what action the Canadian government would take against Saudi Arabia.

The department would only say that it “is actively seeking more information about Saudi Arabia’s current efforts to deal with its security challenges, the reports of civilian casualties, and the reports that Canadian-made vehicles have been used by Saudi Arabia in its current security operations.”

The contract to sell the light armoured vehicles (LAV) to Saudi Arabia was fraught with controversy as the deal was initially approved by the previous Conservative government and was allowed to proceed by the new Liberal government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved the deal, apparently believing Canada was selling “jeeps” to the Saudis.

No country except the United States imports more Canadian-made military hardware than Saudi Arabia. In 2016, total value of Canadian military contracts with the kingdom was $142 million — about a one-fifth of all Canadian-made armaments shipped abroad.

Global Affairs insisted that “the end user of any and all exports to abide by the end us terms in issued export permits,” which is diplomatic language for the understanding that countries receiving military products agree not to use them to transgress human rights.

 

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