Meanwhile

August 13, 2006 at 9:18 pm · Filed under Arabisms

An East Midlands MEP is backing a campaign to ban Saudi
Arabian men from driving in the EU.

Conservative Roger Helmer is one of five members of the European
Parliament protesting against a law preventing women from driving in
Saudi Arabia.

If at least half of the 316 members sign the motion, it will become
a formal resolution of the parliament. Mr Helmer said: “The
nationals of authoritarian countries assume that they can come to
the West and enjoy our freedoms, while maintaining discrimination
and denying basic human rights at home.

“This initiative should help to convince them that freedom is a two-
way street and that their own people are also entitled to basic
human rights.”

[Source]




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  • http://figaddict.blogspot.com Sari Al-Hiari

    I would vote for that, but really, out of everything this catches the attention of the EU Parliament? !!

  • http://odeh.livejournal.com odeh

    spot on!

  • http://dra dragonsvamp

    GO PPL!!!! ITs about time something gets done about this…*fingers crossed*

  • http://www.black-iris.com Nas

    loool this is so dumb. it’s like fighting a stupid law by trying to push for another stupid law to fight the first stupid law.

    Country X that is supposed to represent the ultimate model of freeom feels it must protest the lack of freedom in Country Y by restricting their freedom in Country X.

    It’s a slippery slope. What next? Will Country X feel it necessar to invade Country Z to spread freedom to its people?

    I wonder, when ignorance is sent to combat ignorance is it freedom that blooms..or just more ignorance?

  • http://iheartamman.blogspot.com Firas

    If the law passes, what makes them different than the KSA they are complaning about?

    So what’s next?Killing ME males in the EU because they are fooling around?You know honor crimes….

    I wonder what John Stewart has to say about this….maybe
    Okay someone get me a chocolate, okay make it a beer…

  • http://omernos.blogspot.com omar

    *hands Firas a chocolate*

    No Beer for YOU!

    hehehe

    Yeah I second Firas,
    what’s next?

    omar

  • http://21stcenturyshea.blogspot.com Peter S

    To correct an injustice you should perpetuate an injustice? Sounds like East Midlands MEP needs a new representative.

  • http://3adoola.blogspot.com adel

    mon chapeau!

  • Oz

    i could have sworn people were getting bombed in lebanon??

    silly me, hallucinating as usual

  • http://www.terrycrane.blogspot.com Terry Crane

    Not an easy moral situation. It can be a honest move only if (1) applied to people of certain citizenship rather then race or background, and (2) combined with unlimited migration provision for those who decided to severe their relationship with the country of non-friedom and sincerely pledge their allegiance to equality.

    Only under these conditions that can be seen as a justified action against the country rather then an illegal group punishment of people.

    I pretty much modelled that after the treatment of USSR cisizents before perestroyka.

  • Non-Blogging

    I think it’s important that attention is paid to the crimes of the despotic Saudi regime, yet banning half the citizens from driving because of their gender is not even in the Top 10 of Saudi crimes. To touch something more important, this MEP should propose for example the ban on Saudis to publicly show Islamic symbols or practise Islam in the EU area just the way Saudis ban all other religions except for theirs in the KSA.

    Of course that would be stupid. Anyway, it’s nice to see somebody’s paying attention to idiocies, although it’s just a publicity stint. Besides, the European Parlament is quite a rubber stamp between a real democratic Parliament and that of ME parliaments. The old saying goes that if the EU applied for EU membership, it wouldn’t be accepted due to its own lack of democratic institutions. So all driving Saudi readers here, don’t worry, even if the resolution passed (which won’t happen), that still wouldn’t change any laws anywhere. It’s just a resolution approximately like UN resolutions…

    Firas, don’t worry. No EU country allows the capital punishment. Even candidate countries are not considered before they drop that archaic thing from their legislations.

  • http://thearabobserver.blogspot.com/ The Obeserver

    Why dont they impose those Saudi men to cover their faces as well when going to the EU! Let the roles change, a woman walking down the street with a cut shirt and mini skirt while her husband walking behind her covered all with black so that Europiean ladies won’t sexully harras him! lol