RIYADH: Prime Minister John Key’s trade mission through the Gulf States has sparked a debate between idealists and pragmatists on the issue of human rights.
On one hand idealists say Key should have pressed much harder on the need for political and civil freedoms in Saudi Arabia, where there are public beheadings, torture is commonplace and women are still banned from driving. Key says he did raise human rights but did not give any details of what was actually said.
The pragmatists on the other hand will say that the primary business of the Government is to improve the financial situation and general wellbeing of New Zealanders, not tell other countries how they should behave.
They can point out that New Zealand has a trade agreement with China, which executes more people than any other country. The behaviour of countries like Russia does not bear close examination (New Zealand was right to suspend trade negotiations over Russia’s military engagements in Ukraine) and the United States is a serial jailer, retains capital punishment and is in the middle of an uproar over police killings of unarmed black men.
There is irony in the fact Indonesia, which last week executed two of the Bali Nine, has made pleas to other countries for its citizens to be spared. How strong a case will New Zealand make if a death sentence is passed on Antony De Malmanche?
It boils down to a classic heart versus the head argument, with neither side likely to be moved by the arguments of the other. Most New Zealanders would probably feel that so long as the issues were raised with the Saudis, and continue to be, this is enough.
There is no doubt however that Key would have loved to come back to New Zealand with a trade deal in his pocket, which would have been a triumph for his renowned salesmanship. Unfortunately the Arabs are proving to be hard bargainers — this has gone on for years.
Instead it is back to the daily grind as the Government builds up to the May 21 Budget. At least there Key knows he has a safe pair of hands in Bill English.
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