The street in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington was renamed Wednesday after Jamal Khashoggi, the murdered Saudi journalist whose memory was honored a month before Joe Biden’s controversial visit to the Gulf kingdom.
The town hall of the U.S. capital announced the panel Jamal Khashoggi Wayas a tribute to the dissident who was killed at his country’s consulate in Istanbul, in 2018.
Coincidentally, the ceremony took place the day after the announcement of the American president’s trip to Saudi Arabia in mid -July, where he would meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but was accused by American intelligence of having valid the murder of the registrar of Washington Post.
The new street will serve constant reminder and of memories so that the memory of Jamal Khashoggi will never be erasedsaid Phil Mendelson, president of the city council, who voted unanimously in favor of the new name.
Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, told the ceremony that the president’s future visit means that Biden has renounced his commitment to defend human rights around the world.
Shameless surrender
Sarah Leah Whitson, of the human rights organization Democracy for the Arab World Now, founded by Jamal Khashoggi, denounced a shameless surrender from the Democratic leader.
We want to remind the people behind these doors that every day, every hour, every minute, it will be Jamal Khashoggi Street from now on.he launched, pointing to the embassy in front of him. We hold them accountable for killing our friend […] who dared to challenge the tyranny of Mohammad bin Salman.
Joe Biden felt before he was elected to the White House that Saudi Arabia should be treated as a state pariahand promised, when he was enthroned in power, a recalibration relationship with this American strategic partner, rarely pampered by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. He then informed that he refused to exchange directly with the prince MBSuntil the reversal was announced on Tuesday.
This is not the first symbolic coup for the city of Washington.
The Russian Embassy is thus located in Boris Nemtsov Plazanamed after the reformist politician killed near the Kremlin in 2015.
The desire to rename the Chinese Embassy street as a tribute to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2010, who died in detention, however, came against strong opposition from Beijing.
France Media Agency
Source: Radio-Canada
