Murderous Saudi crown prince, protest in London

By Ceren Sagir in London, England:

Friday, November 30, 2018

Campaigners demand justice outside Downing Street for murdered Saudi journalist

ANTI-WAR activists gathered outside Downing Street today to demand justice for murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the victims of the war in Yemen.

The protesters called on Prime Minister Theresa May to end British arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which has received weapons worth £4.7 billion from this country since the Yemen conflict began in 2015.

More than 56,000 Yemenis have died due to military action and 14 million more are at risk of famine, which is believed to have already killed as many as 85,000 children under the age of five.

Campaigners also demanded a thorough investigation into Mr Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul on October 2 and for the “strongest measures of accountability” against those responsible.

The protest followed talks between Ms May and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the ongoing G20 summit in Argentina.

The PM defended her meeting with the kingdom’s de facto ruler, even though he was shunned by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Stop the War Coalition spokesperson Mayer Wakefield said Ms May’s talks with the crown prince show that the Tories are “absolutely shameless” in their support for the theocratic dictatorship.

“So it’s up to the people of this country to take a stand and force the government to follow Germany’s example and stop selling arms to this brutal regime,” he said.

“Former foreign secretary, now Chancellor, Phillip Hammond promised at the start of the war on Yemen that Britain would ‘support the Saudis in every practical way short of engaging in combat.’

“The government has completely followed through on that promise, despite the continually growing evidence that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian disaster in half a century.”