In an interview with CNBC Monday, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross celebrated the fact that there were no protesters in Saudi Arabia during his visit to the Islamic monarchy over the weekend. Venturing out of his comfort zone, Ross decided to discuss something other than finance and economics with CNBC anchor Becky Quick. But given the appalling amount of ignorance on display, Ross is likely regretting his decision right about now.
After sharing his observations about Saudi meetings and panels on the stock market and venture capitalism, the commerce secretary began suggesting that the Saudis are “liberalizing their society.”
Pointing to the appointment of a woman as “the head of stock exchange in that region,” Ross then bloviated about failing to see a “single hint of a protester anywhere.”
“And I think the other thing that was fascinating to me, there was not a single hint of a protester anywhere there during the whole time we were there,” Ross told his interviewer. “Not one guy with a bad placard.”
Um. So there’s a pretty good reason why there were no protesters, sir. Maybe the lack of protests had a little something to do with the fact that the Saudis kill dissidents, activists, and human rights protesters like cattle at a slaughter house? You know, capital punishment is one heck of a deterrent.
As Ross’ own interviewer pointed out, the lack of visible protests in Saudi Arabia “may be because they control people and don’t allow them to come and express their feelings.” ‘
That’s an understatement. Saudi Arabia is one of worst human rights violators in the world. In a kingdom that functions more like a feudal monarchy than a modern nation-state, dissent is quickly crushed.
Human Rights Watch reports:
Saudi authorities in 2017 continued to arbitrarily arrest, try, and convict peaceful dissidents. Dozens of human rights defenders and activists are serving long prison sentences for criticizing authorities or advocating political and rights reforms. Authorities systematically discriminate against women and religious minorities. In 2016, Saudi Arabia carried out 154 executions, 23 for non-violent drug crimes. On January 2, 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 men for terrorism-related offenses, including prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was convicted following a deeply flawed trial.
For weeks now, Trump administration officials have been misspeaking, providing false information, or pretending that reality-contradicting narratives can begin to be adorned with truth as long as they’re repeated enough times.
Granted, Ross may want to whitewash Saudi Arabia’s moral landscape to strengthen the administration’s diplomatic relationship with the Kingdom; but this time he may have gone a little too far, straining the sinews of credulity until they tore apart.