Pompeo warns Saudi Arabia of reactions

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince & de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman: Photo: AP / Pixabay.com

Pompeo warns Saudi Arabia of severe reactions

US Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mike Pompeo, warns Saudi Arabia about a wide range of reactions if it appears that the country is responsible for the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

 

– We will definitely consider a wide range of possible reactions. But the most important thing now is to get all the facts on the table, Pompeo told the radio station Voice of America on Friday.

The United States is Saudi Arabia’s main international supporter and the alleged murder of Saudi Arabian journalist and dissident, Jamal Khashoggi, has provided Donald J. Trump with one of the most acute foreign policy crises since he moved into the White House in Washington DC.

Khashoggi was last seen on October 2nd when he entered the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish sources claim he was tortured and killed inside the consulate, something that the despotic regime in Saudi Arabia rejects responsibility for, issuing a constant flow of contradictory explanations regarding the disappearance.

Many NGOs demands for UN investigations

Several NGOs demand that Turkey asks the UN for an independent investigation of the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

An investigation by the UN is «the best guarantee against Saudi Arabia’s white-washing,» says spokesperson in the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Robert Mahoney, on Thursday.

CPJ and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Reporters Without Borders, held a press conference on Thursday, requiring the UN to launch an investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi.

“Get out of jail” card

An investigation team consisting of Turkish police and a Saudi Arabian delegation are investigating Khashoggi’s disappearance, but the NGOs believe that they can not rely on the Saudi regime to carry out a credible investigation of themselves.

-This is not the way to conduct a proper criminal investigation. To let the Saudis investigate themselves is like giving them a ”get out of jail card” to white-wash their role. We, Therefore, call for an investigation held by the United Nations, says Louis Charbonneau in HRW.

The Organisations inform that they have contacted Turkey’s UN delegation twice with questions about whether the UN should investigate the matter, without receiving a response.

Have to request themselves

A Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, states that they can not launch investigations unless both parties in the case, ie Turkey and Saudi Arabia, ask for it or that one of the UN councils obtains a mandate. That council can most likely be either the UN Security Council or the UN Human Rights Council.

US President Donald Trump stated Thursday that it appears that the journalist is dead, which may sound a bit redundant since there exist recordings of the bestial murder inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

A bit surprising is the virtually total lack of condemnation or diplomatic reaction by Norway, who normally is very quick out of the blocs when it comes to these kinds of atrocities.

 

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today