Al Shindagah

2 | Al Shindagah | Issue 136 ©Shutterstock his is one of the saddest days since the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was formed. I never imagined that a brotherly country, a neighbour with which we in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) share ties of blood, would act against us behind the curtain by supporting terrorist groups threatening us all while getting cosy with our adversary, Iran The Qatari regime’s loyalty towards its GCC allies has long been questioned. The fact that it has been sheltering Muslim Brotherhood criminals languishing in five-star hotels and has close ties with both Hamas and the Afghan Taliban and other terrorist groups is an open secret.. The motives behind the Qatari government’s ill treatment of its closest friends are not clear. I can but speculate that the Emir was hand-in-glove with former US President Barack Obama who was set on bolstering Iran’s influence while cutting that of Gulf States down to size. The Qatari leadership is known for talking out of both sides of its mouth, saying one thing and doing the opposite. The smiles and the warm diplomatic messages from that quarter were fakes designed to hide the country’s double-dealings. Doha’s friendly posture towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kingdom of Bahrain has been exposed as a duplicitous charade, which cannot be tolerated. Saudi, the Emirates and Bahrain do not seek confrontation; our leaders are patient but also just, firm and strong when the safety of our people is at stake. We cannot forever blind our eyes and close our ears to the truth staring us in the face. Qataris are good people, some of the finest I know. They share our culture and traditions. I do not believe they condone the behaviour of their ruler. They have been quietly oppressed and are afraid to air their true opinions. We do not wish to harm them in any way and look forward to a time when we can break bread with them again. I would appeal to my Qatari brothers and sisters not to take the severing of diplomatic relations with Doha by the Kingdom, the UAE and Bahrain personally. We have been left with no choice. Egypt, Libya, Yemen, the Maldives and Mauritius are backing our stance. Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Manama and Cairo have closed air, sea and land transport links to Qatar “for the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism,” said an official Saudi source quoted by the Saudi News Agency. We anticipate that Jordan, Morocco and Sudan will announce similar measures. We hope and trust that Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman will also do what is right. I expect that certain Western nations will join the boycott although I am disappointed with the American response. US Secretary of State Rex T the architect of its own isolation Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor • Published in the media on 6 June 2017 Qatar , CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE