Canada's calls for the release of civil rights activists detained in the kingdom have led to the suspension of all Saudi Airlines flights to and from Canada, the suspension of new trade and investment deals, the expulsion of Canada's envoy, and a sell-off of all Canadian holdings by Saudi officials and the state, as well as the revocation of scholarships for thousands of students studying in Canada and the withdrawal of Saudi nationals being treated in Canadian hospitals.
Taking the conflict up another notch this week, Saudi trolls on Twitter have turned to Canada's own sensitive national topics, posting messages in support of a sovereign Quebec, and pointing to the razor thin margin in the 1995 referendum on independence, where proponents of an independent Quebec lost by a margin of just 1 percent. Some also criticized the country over its alleged "cultural genocide" of its aboriginal peoples.
In Saudi Arabia we feel worried about Canada committing cultural genocide against Indigenous people. We also support the right of Quebec to become an independent nation.
— خالد بن عبدالله آل سعود 🇸🇦 (@Kafalsaud78) August 5, 2018
Saudi Arabia could have easily supported the 1995 Quebec independence referendum through the funding of media campaigns and attacks against the Canadian government to secure a Quebecan victory but we do not meddle in other nations’ domestic affairs, clearly, unlike Canada.
— 🇸🇦سعود بن سلمان الدوسري (@999saudsalman) August 5, 2018
Free #Quebec 👏👏
— 🇸🇦Eng. Nayef Al-Jebreen (@nALJEBREEN) August 7, 2018
In Saudi Arabia we deeply worried and concerned about Anglophones for Quebec independence people. They should become an independent nation immediately pic.twitter.com/EQKBs9QpIC
#السعوديه_تطرد_السفير_الكندي
— محمد بن ضاحي (@makntuosh) August 5, 2018
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We support Quebec's independence@CanEmbSA pic.twitter.com/6UfhoLlNuj
#السعودية_تطرد_السفير_الكندي
— 6MηÌ3ŀξΚ (@AlwaeelMshaal) August 6, 2018
In Saudi Arabia we feel worried about Canada committing cultural genocide against Indigenous people. We also support the right of Quebec to become an independent nation.👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/4cFICHdb5R
Canadian media quickly picked up on the Saudi trolling campaign, joking that Quebec separatists would never again be short of financing.
'Dark Humor'
The Quebec comments are the latest element in the Saudi campaign against Canada online following a controversial approach taken by a Saudi youth group, which posted a Photoshopped image of an Air Canada plane flying toward the CN Tower in an apparent threat to strike Canada with a 9/11-style terror attack. Canadians quickly recalled that 15 of the 19 hijackers who targeted New York and Washington, DC in September 2001 were Saudi nationals. The youth group has since apologized for and deleted the tweet, with the Infographic_ksa site soon deleted altogether, but not before users managed to grab a screenshot of the odious message.
Umm, guys, I think Saudi Arabia just threatened to 9/11 Canada by flying an Air Canada plane into the CN Tower before it realized it’s probably a bad idea and deleted the tweet. pic.twitter.com/9ClxJH8YSI
— Serge (@Zinvor) August 6, 2018
Saudi Arabia's media hasn’t shied away from making exaggerated claims about human rights problems in Canada, with reports ranging from claims that the country has the world's highest rates of persecution of women, to allegations that Canada has numerous prisoners of conscience, and that over the last two years, 75 percent of prisoners in Canadian jails died before their case was heard in court.
'Canada is the world's worst oppressor of women': Saudi Arabia's bizarre propaganda campaign https://t.co/0XBcVhPxhz pic.twitter.com/qz1SWbNvo1
— National Post (@nationalpost) August 10, 2018
Canadian former officials have marked their concern with the lack of support from their US and British allies amid the spat with Riyadh, with former Harper-era advisor Rachel Curran complaining about the country's seemingly lonely struggle, and former Liberal Party leader Bob Rae saying Canada won't forget the lack of support.
We do not have a single friend in the whole entire world. That takes some doing.
— Rachel Curran (@reicurran) 7 августа 2018 г.
The Brits and the Trumpians run for cover and say “we’re friends with both the Saudis and the Canadians” — thanks for the support for human rights, guys, and we’ll remember this one for sure. Saudi reaction is completely over the top. #dontshootthemessenger
— Bob Rae (@BobRae48) 7 августа 2018 г.
