Public executions are a frequent occurrence in Riyadh’s Al-Safat Square.
Photo: dpa
The traffic light really didn’t last long: the Chancellor’s recent trip to the Gulf States is already reflected in concrete results. Exports of armaments, including equipment and ammunition for Eurofighter and Tornado fighter jets, are given the green light. Gas and oil without Putin attachments have to be earned, and the Saudis also know what to do with the equipment. Or again, look at the fragile ceasefire in Yemen, where the hereditary Islamist monarchy, already armed to the teeth, is leading a war coalition. Since 2015, she has turned the bitterly poor country into a graveyard; the fighting is destroying the livelihoods of the people of Yemen. Around 380,000 victims have been counted there by the UN so far, and the war has forced millions to flee.
With its exemption from the previous export ban on armaments as an indirect consideration for raw material deals, the government of the SPD, Greens and FDP is proving that their morality can be bought and their human rights rhetoric is just a facade. Don’t forget: Suddenly the Kingdom’s participation in the Yemen war is no longer an obstacle. Similar to Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan, it is now the case here that only Western deaths really count for the West. Different countries, different customs: How much does the disenfranchisement of women, the murder of dissidents or medieval-style executions weigh when it comes to ruining Russia? When they waited for the dictatorships on the Arabian Peninsula, the traveling salesmen Scholz and Habeck were only following in the footsteps of the master. US President Biden has embraced the autocrats in Qatar and Saudi Arabia in front of them. Instead of »value-based« it would be better in Berlin to talk about unscrupulous foreign policy in the future.
