facebook icon facebook icon facebook icon
  • About
  • ADS
  • Masthead
    • Editorial Board
  • Subscribe
The Wellesley News -
  • News
    • Wellesley Students Comment on Recent State Elections
      Wellesley Students Comment on Recent State Elections
    • Still No Student Bursar: It’s Not Just a Money Problem
      Still No Student Bursar: It’s Not Just a Money Problem
    • Students question administration’s comments on demonstration policy
      Students question administration’s comments on demonstration policy
    • Senate Report
    • News in Brief
  • Features
    • Professor Selwyn Cudjoe Set To Retire After 38 Years At Wellesley: Africana Studies department hosts lecture series in his honor
      Professor Selwyn Cudjoe Set To Retire After 38 Years At Wellesley: Africana Studies department hosts lecture series in his honor
    • Lines and Light: Vera Pavlova’s Poetry in “The Line of Contact”
      Lines and Light: Vera Pavlova’s Poetry in “The Line of Contact”
    • Tanner Conference: A look into STEM Students Summer Experiences
      Tanner Conference: A look into STEM Students Summer Experiences
  • Opinions
    • We don’t all have to be doctors
      We don’t all have to be doctors
    • Letter to the Editor: do you condemn Israel?
      Letter to the Editor: do you condemn Israel?
    • Arabs and Muslims will speak for ourselves
      Arabs and Muslims will speak for ourselves
    • Editorials
    • Letters to Editors
  • Arts
    • Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra celebrates 20th anniversary
      Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra celebrates 20th anniversary
    • Marvel does “Loki” justice with its second season.
      Marvel does “Loki” justice with its second season.
    • SAG-AFTRA reaches tentative deal with studios
      SAG-AFTRA reaches tentative deal with studios
  • Sports
    • The Wellesley Blue is Off to a Powerful Winter Season
      The Wellesley Blue is Off to a Powerful Winter Season
    • Bringing Back the Wellesley College 50 list!
      Bringing Back the Wellesley College 50 list!
    • Sports Week Cheat Sheet: Top Five Moments
      Sports Week Cheat Sheet: Top Five Moments
  • Multimedia
    • Wellesley Celebrates Flower Sunday 2023
      Wellesley Celebrates Flower Sunday 2023
    • Photo of the Week
      Photo of the Week
    • “Stronger Together” Rally with Chelsea Clinton
      “Stronger Together” Rally with Chelsea Clinton
    • Podcasts
    • Photo Stories
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • How I Transformed My Life Using Kiki and Bouba Theory
      How I Transformed My Life Using Kiki and Bouba Theory
    • America… America has a problem.
      America… America has a problem.
    • A Wellesley Snooze Need to Know: Why Won’t Obama Release his LSAT Scores?
      A Wellesley Snooze Need to Know: Why Won’t Obama Release his LSAT Scores?
  • About
    • Masthead
    • Editorial Board
By Hilal Yildirim OpinionsNovember 7, 2018

The Killing of Jamal Khashoggi: What’s Next for Saudi Arabia

Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Many have started to entertain the possibility of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman, being replaced by another member of the royal family after the controversial killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, 59. The incident, which most likely took place on Oct. 2 in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, has been all over the news for the past few weeks. A former advisor to the royal family and a progressive journalist in Saudi Arabia, Jamal Khashoggi, had gone into self-imposed exile in the U.S. after Muhammad bin Salman barred him from writing as a measure to censor his critics. However, Khashoggi continued to write in the U.S., becoming one of the prince’s most fervent critics. It is somewhat surprising that his death received so much public attention on a global scale, even though Saudi Arabia has been executing and jailing journalists and activists within the country for years.

While the outrageous incident has been all over the news, President Trump’s response has not been very convincing to many, as he had suggested that he would not allow a journalist’s death to get in the way of his government’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

In regards to the U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia, President Trump stated, “It’s the largest order in history, to give that up would hurt us far more than it hurts them. Then all they’ll do is go to Russia or go to China. All that’s doing is hurting us.”

Since 2010, Saudi Arabia has bought military equipment worth more than $18 billion from all over the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). With the newly introduced sanctions on China, Trump cannot risk the good relations with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, some American businessmen including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and AOL founder Steve Case pulled out of the Saudi Arabian investment forum, ‘Davos in the Desert.’ The forum was still held on Oct. 23 in Riyadh, where crown prince Muhammad bin Salman, who is suspected to be closely connected to the killing of Khashoggi, was given a standing ovation. Among the crowd were investors and businesspeople from all over the world, telling the reporters that although what happened was a terrible incident, the ties they have with Saudi Arabia are too valuable to be broken off.

If we look at Europe, we might be able to observe a different response. While French President Emmanuel Macron suggested there should be no link between arm sales and Khashoggi’s murder when asked about possible responses France might have, German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised that “as long as [Khashoggi’s murder] is not cleared up, there will be no arms exports to Saudi Arabia. I assure you of that very decidedly.” In addition, the European Union’s (EU) parliament voted to ban all arms exports “of surveillance systems and other dual-use items that may be used in Saudi Arabia for the purposes of repression.” However, experts say that it is very unlikely that we will see a coordinated response from the EU, as France, the UK and Spain have given no signs of a response.

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan cannot risk shattering the relations between Saudi Arabia — even more so with the country’s recent economy meltdown — we see Erdogan on the other side of the table, trying to make the best out of the current situation by becoming the voice for free press while Turkey remains on top of the list of countries with the highest numbers of jailed journalists. Since the event took place on Turkish soil, Erdogan has the leverage to use information gained by the ongoing investigations. Furthermore, the way Turkey is keeping the public’s attention focused on the case by leaking one piece of information at a time shows that Erdogan wants to use the case as an opportunity to extract concessions from Saudi Arabia. If Turkish officials have recordings and documents that would prove the crown prince Muhammad bin Salman is responsible for the killing, as they claim, it would damage Muhammad bin Salman’s reputation and authority.

The killing of Khashoggi was the center of attention for the past month not only because it was an outrageous human rights violation but also because it was a violation of international law as it took place in a consulate. Now, the most discussed topic is the possible consequences Saudi Arabia will face, most importantly financial sanctions and halting or rolling back arms sales.

 

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleAfter Pittsburgh, we can’t give into fear
Next articleTitle IX protects those who Emily Yoffe and Wellesley College disempower

You may also like

We don’t all have to be doctors

Letter to the Editor: do you condemn Israel?

Arabs and Muslims will speak for ourselves

1 Comment

  • Pingback: Duke of York: Keep ‘engaging’ with Saudis – Saudi Arabia Breaking News

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Wellesley News

    SECTIONS

  • News
  • Features
  • Opinions
  • Arts
  • Sports
  • Multimedia
  • Projects
  • About

    ABOUT

  • Contact
  • Join the News
  • Masthead
  • Editorial Board

    RESOURCES

  • Advertising
  • Submission
  • Subscribe

    CONTACT US

  • Contact
COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS