American committee calls for blacklisting Saudi Arabia for religious repression

A US government consultation committee yesterday denounced the religious rights record in Saudi Arabia and said that Washington must add the name of its old ally on its blacklist for countries practicing religious repression.

Michael Young, the deputy chairman of the American committee for international religious freedom said "We cannot understand why we do not consider Saudi Arabia as a country of special concern." However, in its annual report on religious rights all over the world in October 2002, the US Department Of State said that Washington will examine carefully the issue of placing Saudi Arabia on the list of countries which provoke special concern, considered by Washington as violating religious freedom regularly. But the new list which was issued in March this year, including China, Iran, Iraq, Mainamar, North Korea and Sudan, did not include Saudi Arabia or others among its new allies which were criticized by the report like Pakistan.

In a press conference held in Washington on the occasion of releasing the annual report of the American committee for religious freedom, Young said that the US should pressure Saudi Arabia openly and in secret in order to permit basic human rights.

The committee also demanded that the Congress make investigation on whether the Saudis are financing directly or indirectly any effort encouraging hatred, non- tolerance or violence.