Former Spanish King was heavily criticized for his decision to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, The Local Spain reported. Photo of Juan Carlos and Saudi royal who has been tainted by the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi caused a stir on media.
Saudi Crown Prince met with King Juan Carlos, and Crown Prince of Dubai on the sidelines of the World Formula 1 championship. The photo was taken on the final day of the competition and was released on the Twitter account of the Saudi foreign ministry. On Monday, several Spanish newspapers have published that photo, which caused a stir on the social media, the 80-year-old Spanish king under fire for meeting Saudi crown prince.
“The photo of shame”, believe the anti-monarchists and opposition leaders, while other people took the picture of two royals as quite a natural thing. Two gentlemen from the world-famous and respectable families are talking on the sidelines of F1 event. However, Pablo Echinique, a leading member of Podemos, twitted that such a move “is humiliating Spain and Spaniards.”
Spain’s monarchy is almost over, say the anti-royalists
Alberto Garzon questioned the Spanish royal family’s friendships, saying they are a “faithful reflection of an era that has to end”.
“The Spanish monarchy is a problem not just for the Spanish people as this photograph shows. It’s not a simple photo, it is a symbol,” he added.
The former Spanish ruler has long had close ties with the Saudi royal family, their relations’ base was the lucrative contracts in the oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Now, the Middle Eastern Kingdom has faced intense criticism over the killing of opposition journalist on October. There is only the uncertainty in this murder case and no evidence at all while the international community is trying to understand where to find Jamal Kashoggi’s traces.
Adnan Khashoggi’s nephew was reportedly dismembered in what Saudis said was an operation but CIA analysis leaked to the US media has pointed the finger at Prince Mohammed. Riyadh has insistently rejected any suggestion the young royal was connected to the disappearing of insider-turned-critic Khashoggi.
