No accountability in Saudi Arabia for Mina tragedy: Analyst
Press TV has conducted an interview with Naseer al-Omari, a writer and political commentator from New York.
Following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Iran’s Leader in his annual Hajj message highlights the mismanagement of Hajj. How can the management of Hajj be transferred from the hands of Saudi Arabia to a more collective management system?
Omari: These calls to include Muslims in the management of Hajj are not heeded by the Saudi regime. To them, all the pilgrims who lost their lives needlessly have been targeted into a political football. To them four or five hundred Iranian pilgrims is not dying and as the Supreme Leader stated dangerously they may have been intentionally left to die. This is a very very serious statement and I’m sure someone of his status would not make that statement without having evidence for it, but to the Saudis the whole thing is a political game.
The media turned the statements of the Supreme Leader into a political football. They’re talking about destabilizing the kingdom and politicizing the Hajj. So human life, human rights, Muslims’ visiting safely and doing the pilgrimage to this regime are a complete joke. They don’t take any of this seriously and I’m afraid that the media has turned this into a circus. And they are saying that Iranians are trying to correct Hajj. So the Supreme Leader is right in his anger and expressing his anger at this regime and how likely it has taken human life.
Press TV: Last year’s Hajj event was indeed very tragic with thousands of pilgrims from different countries being crushed to death. Unfortunately, Saudi Arabia has not been held accountable. What are the obstacles in the way of the judicial process to bring Saudi Arabia to justice?
Omari: There is no judicial process in Saudi Arabia. The regime itself is controlling all branches of government. The royal family members are the committee members and their cronies and their business deals. So there is no accountability in Saudi Arabia. There is no accountability for the Saudi lives being lost in terrorist attacks within Saudi Arabia. So the problem of accountability, the problem of dismissing international and regional powers’ calling on them to respect human rights go unnoticed by this regime unfortunately.
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