« Cloud-Cuckoo Land: Apologizing for Depicting the Truth |
| US: Muslim Loses his Claim for $1m Damages »
October 1, 2005
US: Bush Administration Gives Saudis Special Treatment
Maybe because Saudi Arabia is an "ally" of the United States, the country which has one of the strictest regimes regarding religion in the world, is not being censured for restricting religious freedom. No-one is allowed to bring any items such as crucifixes or Bibles into the country, and no-one is allowed to hold Christian services. It is Islam or nothing. Last week, Eritrea was the first country to undergo US sanctions on the importation of certain defence items. This was the first time any country had had sanctions applied under the US religious freedom law.
A year ago, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam were all listed by the State Department as having "records of serious concern on religious freedom." According to Yahoo News Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told Congress last week that she had authorised a waver of 180 days, to allow the Saudi establishment to have additional time for the "continuation of discussions leading to progress on important religious freedom issues." She also discussed the issue with Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister.
The delay on imposing sanctions, revealed on Sept 30 by The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (est. 1998), coincides with the recent visit of Karen Hughes to Saudi Arabia. Hughes had commended the Saudis for their work in combatting terrorism. Last week
President Bush waived financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia for failing to make significant efforts to stop slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.13 other countries were also included in the State Department list who had failed to adequately address the issue, but Saudi Arabia, as well as Ecuador and Kuwait avoided punishment. Condoleeza Rice's report on worldwide religious freedoms is expected next week.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 1, 2005 4:53 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/mt-tb.cgi/282
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)