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King steps in as Riyadh defends itself in Khashoggi case
DUBAI, Oct 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi King Salman has begun weighing in to
try to defuse the growing crisis over missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as
the kingdom goes on the offensive triggering a fierce online media campaign.
In a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Monday, the king denied
“any knowledge of whatever may have happened ‘to our Saudi Arabian citizen'”,
the US leader said in a tweet.
Trump added he was “immediately” sending Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to
Riyadh “to meet with the king” for talks on the crisis.
The disappearance of Khashoggi, last seen entering the Saudi consulate in
Istanbul on October 2, has whipped up international concern, with new Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman increasingly the focus of sharp criticism.
Turkish officials have said they believe Khashoggi — a Washington Post
contributor who was critical of Prince Mohammed’s policies — was killed
inside the mission, and lurid claims have even been leaked that he was
tortured and even dismembered.
After an initial silence, Riyadh said Khashoggi had left the consulate
safely and then at the weekend denied as “baseless” claims that orders were
given to have him killed.
As western companies began to distance themselves from the oil-rich Gulf
nation which is seeking outside investment to diversify its economy, the king
also Sunday discussed the scandal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
He reiterated Riyadh’s “solid” relations with Ankara, according to the
state-run Saudi Press Agency.
It is not the first time that King Salman has sought to ease tensions
surrounding the 33-year-old Prince Mohammed, who has been cultivated by the
US but whose reformist credentials are being quickly shredded by the mystery
surrounding Khashoggi’s fate.
In an earlier phone call with Trump in April, King Salman reiterated
Riyadh’s position that Jerusalem must remain the capital of Palestine amid
speculation that the kingdom had given up on the longstanding position.
– ‘A message to the US’ –
Aleksandar Mitreski, a security and defence analyst, said Saudi Arabia
cannot control the international narrative but can try to alleviate the most
damaging fallout.
Saudi Arabia warned Sunday it would retaliate against any sanctions imposed
over the Khashoggi’s disappearance after Trump threatened “severe punishment”
if the writer was found to be a victim of a state-sponsored killing.
“The purpose of (Sunday’s) message broadcasted by the Saudi national media
is twofold: one goal is to satisfy the domestic public opinion that Saudi
Arabia and its royal family will not be humiliated and the other goal is to
send a message to the US,” Mitreski, researcher at the University of Sydney,
told AFP.
MORE/AFP/ARS/1930 hrs
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The kingdom’s warning was not only a response to Trump, but also targeted
at US decision-makers amid rising calls for Congress to step in and put key
arms sales on hold, he said.
“It will be the task of political advisors and strategists to prevent Trump
from causing damage to the US-Saudi relationship,” he added.
As the United States and Turkey have ratched up pressure on the kingdom,
Saudi companies, officials and princes have also gone online in a wave of
solidarity with the ruling family.
– ‘Kingdom always prevails’ –
Saudi flags, photos of the king and crown prince looking stern, and pro-
Saudi hashtags were making the rounds on social media Monday with a common
theme: Saudi Arabia and its ruling family are a “red line”.
Saudi Minister of Information Awwad al-Awwad tweeted on Sunday that the
kingdom “always prevails against its enemies… under the wise leadership of
the king and crown prince” using the Arabic hashtag
#Saudis_In_Line_With_TheLeadership.
Billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal — who was among those temporarily
detained as part of what Saudi authorities said was an anti-corruption
crackdown — tweeted an image of the Saudi flag Sunday in support of the
ruling family, saying: “God, then the king, then the nation.”
One Twitter user said the Saudis “will not bow down and will not kneel, but
only to God… We are all Salman, and we are all Mohammed”.
Some Saudis opted to remain silent for fear of consequences.
“What is the use of discussing an issue that might throw you in a place you
don’t want to be?” a Saudi citizen, residing in Dubai, told AFP on condition
of anonymity.
“Let us wait quietly.”
James Dorsey, a fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies, said Saudi Arabia was stepping up moves against criticism.
“There’s been stark repression of anyone whose comments are not supportive
of the government,” he told AFP, as Saudi’s public prosecutor warned earlier
this week that those spreading fake news can be sentenced to five years in
jail.
There has been “a concerted effort on social and state-controlled media to
portray Khashoggi’s disappearance as a conspiracy against the kingdom”, he
added.
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