It’s a recurring notion in our world that Utopia can only be ushered through the use of bloodshed.
The people who happen to stand in the way of ‘progress’ can sometimes only be displaced by force.
Take Saudi Arabia, for example, who are in the process of building the futuristic city ‘Neom’ in an area of the desert described by Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman as the perfect ‘blank canvas’.
But is it? The Saudi government admits that more than 6,000 people have been moved for the project.
Now, it arises that Saudi authorities authorized the use of lethal force to clear the land.
BBC reported:
“Col Rabih Alenezi says he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project. One of them was subsequently shot and killed for protesting against eviction.”
Neither the Saudi government nor any of the dozens of global companies building Neom agreed to comment.
“Neom, Saudi Arabia’s $500bn (£399bn) eco-region, is part of its Saudi Vision 2030 strategy which aims to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. Its flagship project, The Line, has been pitched as a car-free city, just 200m (656ft) wide and 170km (106 miles) long – though only 2.4km of the project is reportedly expected to be completed by 2030.”
In three of the villages demolished – al-Khuraybah, Sharma and Gayal – homes, schools, and hospitals have been wiped off the map.
Exiled in the UK, Colonel Alenezi was tasked to clear al-Khuraybah, 4.5km south of The Line, populated by the Huwaitat tribe.
The order stated that ‘whoever continues to resist [eviction] should be killed, so it licensed the use of lethal force against whoever stayed in their home’.
Alenezi escaped the mission on invented medical grounds, but it was completed.
“Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti refused to allow a land registry committee to value his property, and was shot dead by Saudi authorities a day later, during the clearance mission. He had previously posted multiple videos on social media protesting against the evictions.
A statement issued by Saudi state security at the time alleged al-Huwaiti had opened fire on security forces and they had been forced to retaliate. Human rights organisations and the UN have said he was killed simply for resisting eviction.”
Dozens of villagers were detained resisting evictions, sometimes prosecuted on terror-related charges, five of whom are on death row.
Those required to move for The Line have been offered compensation, but values paid out have been much lower than the amount promised.
“According to Col Alenezi, ‘[Neom] is the centrepiece of Mohamed Bin Salman’s ideas. That’s why he was so brutal in dealing with the Huwaitat.’ al-Enezi now lives in the UK for his own safety.”
Displaced villagers were extremely reluctant to speak to the BBC, fearing it could endanger their detained relatives.
“But Col Alenezi has no regrets about his decision to disobey orders regarding Saudi’s futuristic city. ‘Mohamed Bin Salman will let nothing stand in the way of the building of Neom… I started to become more worried about what I might be asked to do to my own people’.”
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