Arms exports to Saudi Arabia irresponsible

The Finnish cabinet has approved the export of 36 grenade launchers to Saudi Arabia, the biggest Finnish arms deal in ten years. The government should have had the oppression of the people in sight as well as the creation of jobs on the Finnish market when it made its decision to go ahead with the 150 million euro deal, the liberal daily Savon Sanomat admonishes: "The problematic aspect about the deal is that Saudi Arabia is a dictatorship. Political parties aren't allowed in the country and there is not even freedom of association, let alone religious freedom. Torture and the death sentence are everyday occurrences. The Arab Spring failed to melt the icy dictatorship in Saudi Arabia. ... It would naturally be a total exaggeration to claim that Finland is endorsing the dictatorship and the violation of human rights with the arms deal. ... Yet the decision is irresponsible because in practice it means that weapons bought from the Finnish state - as the majority shareholder in the manufacturer - will be used to crush the democracy movement."

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Human rights, » Unrest / Riots, » Finland, » Asia
Who's saying what » Arabs fight for freedom

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, December 21, 2011