GCC Summit Today As Unjust Blockade of Qatar Continues
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BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Al-Sulaiti excels in Industry development Superstock off ers ‘opportunities 600 to Qataris, residents’ published in QATAR since 1978 SUNDAY Vol. XXXIX No. 11027 December 9, 2018 Rabia II 2, 1440 AH GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals In brief REGION | Confl ict 20mn Yemenis food GCC Summit today as unjust insecure due to war Around 20mn Yemenis are food insecure, UN agencies said yesterday, adding the conflict ravaging the impoverished country was the key driver behind rising hunger levels. “As many as 20mn Yemenis are blockade of Qatar continues food insecure in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” a joint statement he 39th GCC Summit takes sation, Riyadh politicised Umrah “It is very regrettable that the con- by the UN’s Food and Agriculture place today in Riyadh amid an and Haj, depriving Qatari nationals tinuation of the Gulf crisis exposed Organisation (FAO), the children’s fund Tongoing blockade on Qatar im- from performing one of the main the failure of the Gulf Co-operation Unicef and the World Food Programme posed in June 2017 by Saudi Arabia, obligations of Islam. On the other Council ... which has weakened its (WFP) said. Page 15 Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and hand Haj visas were used as a po- ability to face challenges and threats Egypt. litical tool to intimidate poor coun- and marginalised its role in the region,” ASIA | Diplomacy Without even giving the slightest tries in Africa to declare their loy- he added. hint, Saudi Arabia closed the Salwa alty to Saudi Arabia. Experts say it remains unclear how China summons Canada border, Qatar’s only land crossing, When nothing worked and Qatar today’s summit will aff ect the ongo- envoy over Huawei exec cutting off a vital link for food and continued to grow from strength to ing dispute, as the “largely-symbolic” China yesterday summoned the medical supplies, on June 5 last year. strength, the card of tribal affi liations body has for years abandoned its func- Canadian ambassador over the The blockading countries, three of was played to divide the people of the tional role of building closer ties be- “unconscionable and vile” detention of them Gulf Co-operation Council region but that too to no avail. tween member states. telecom giant Huawei’s chief financial (GCC) members, cut of all diplomatic All the while, the campaign against With the GCC unable to resolve the off icer in Vancouver, in Beijing’s latest ties and banned Qatari citizens from Qatar went unabated, both at the re- crisis, analysts say the organisation it- angry response to the hot-button case. their territories. gional and international levels. ‘Pro- self has proven to be futile, both politi- Meng Wanzhou has been held since The ban aff ected Qatari students testers’ and ‘panellists’ were paid to cally and to an extent, economically. December 1 in Canada on an American pursuing their studies in the siege participate in anti-Qatar events or- This year’s meeting also comes amid extradition request and faces US fraud countries and Qatari citizens and resi- ganised by hired fi rms abroad. pressure from the West, as the United charges related to sanctions-breaking dents who have invested huge sums In the face of such serious provoca- States - a GCC ally - and Europe say business dealings with Iran. China’s in real estate and business ventures in tions, Qatar has continued to keep de- the council is vital for keeping the re- Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng the blockading countries. As their own corum and maintained that the crisis gion secure. said Meng’s detention was a “severe nationals were asked to return to their has to be solved through talks. While the agenda of this year’s sum- violation” of her rights and interests as home countries, thousands of Gulf His Highness the Amir Sheikh mit has not been made public, experts a Chinese citizen. Page 18 family members were stranded or sep- Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani recently predict that the Gulf crisis will not be a arated in one stroke of unjust, political said he regrets the continuation of the top priority. EUROPE | Accident one-upmanship. confl ict with other Arab states, but This year’s summit also comes amid The crisis did not even spare animals added that “crises will pass”. the diplomatic crisis over Saudi jour- Six dead, dozens hurt in - thousands of camels that used to Addressing Qatar’s Shura (Advi- nalist Jamal Khashoggi’s assassina- Italy nightclub stampede graze in the vast Saudi deserts - were sory) Council last month, the Amir tion, which has put Riyadh in the dock. Six people, including five teenagers, rushed across the border. Many of the said the country would continue to Since the crisis began, Qatar has died and 120 were injured in a animals perished in the ensuing stam- develop its oil and gas industries as secured new strategic alliances, most stampede when panic broke out pede and as a result of lack of feed or Not being satisfi ed with these unjust They used hate speech to spread it is keen to preserve its status as the notably with Turkey. during a rap concert at a packed water. measures, the blockading countries, hatred among the people of the GCC world’s top liquefied natural gas ex- The GCC, a political and economic Italian nightclub early yesterday. The The blockading countries even launched a vicious anti-Qatar media member states and did not hesitate porter. alliance of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, suspected use of a pepper spray-like closed their airspace for Qatari aircraft campaign that employed an army of even to use religious platforms against “History teaches us that crises pass, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, was substance is thought to have sparked in their eff orts to heap further trouble social media ‘infl uencers’ who spread Qatar. but if they are handled badly then this established in 1981 to foster socio- the chaos at the venue in the town of on their neighbour who they called a fake news about Qatar in an eff ort to In one of the most ignominious may leave traces which last for a long economic co-ordination, security, and Corinaldo, near Ancona in central Italy, brother until the previous day. sully its fair name. and unprecedented acts of victimi- time,” the Amir said. cultural co-operation. the fire service said. Page 20 AMERICA | Politics Trump announces new top US offi cials Summit has to address US President Donald Trump announced Barricades burn as ‘yellow vest’ yesterday that he would nominate four- star Army General Mark Milley to be the rights violations: NHRC next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Milley, currently the Army chief of staff , protesters clash with police would take over as the top US military QNA He reiterated the conviction of the commander from Marine General Joseph Vienna NHRC that any result or decision Dunford at a date to be determined. AFP that might emerge from the GCC Trump is also talking to Nick Ayers, an Paris summit in Riyadh cannot succeed aide to Vice President Mike Pence about he Chairman of the Nation- unless the repercussions of the un- serving as replacement for out-going al Human Rights Committee just siege imposed on Qatar and the White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. rench “yellow vest” dem- T(NHRC) HE Dr Ali bin Smaikh violations suffered by thousands of Page 17 onstrators clashed with riot al-Marri has met with offi cials of the citizens and residents of Qatar, and Fpolice in Paris yesterday in Austrian Ombudsman Council, a na- even the people of the siege coun- CANADA | Politics the latest round of protests against tional human rights institution in Aus- tries, would be at the forefront of President Emmanuel Macron, but tria. the concerns and discussions of the Clashes over Canada the city appeared to have escaped The meeting discussed means of GCC leaders. immigration the large-scale destruction of a week enhancing co-operation between the Al-Marri said the GCC was es- Right-wing protesters opposed to earlier due to heavy security. two sides in exchanging expertise and tablished as a basis for asserting the Canada joining a UN pact for better Protesters nonetheless set fi re to cars, training, and promoting the culture of unity of the Gulf people. However, regulating worldwide migration burned barricades and smashed win- human rights. the discriminatory and arbitrary clashed yesterday with pro- dows in pockets of violence across the Protesters wearing “yellow vests” (gilets jaunes) send back teargas canisters In a press statement after the meet- measures imposed by the blockad- immigration groups in the biting cold city centre, clad in their emblematic during clashes with riot police (unseen) during a protest against rising costs of ing, the NHRC chief called on civ- ing countries on Qatar have caused outside parliament in Ottawa. An luminous safety jackets, as armoured living in the Champs-Elysees in Paris yesterday. il society organisations in the Gulf a deep blow to the social fabric of estimated 200 members of far-right vehicles rolled through the streets. Co-operation Council (GCC) countries to the Gulf. He pointed out that with groups and 100 counter-protesters “Dozens of shopkeepers have fall- Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse, dur- thousands massed on the Champs- hold a series of consultations and meet- every additional day, the rift and gap lobbed insults at each other on the en victim to hooligans,” Paris Mayor ing a fourth weekend of nationwide Elysees avenue.