Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor

18 July Refusing to Close Al Jazeera in Qatar is a Stand for Independent Journalism HE Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al-Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office Newsweek

In the ongoing crisis in relations between Qatar and four Sunni states—Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates—the Arab world's most-watched broadcaster Al Jazeera is central. The four countries accuse the channel, backed by Qatar, of promoting extremism, and last month demanded its closure to resolve the crisis. Here are two articles that offer an insight into the two opposing points of view on the network’s role—one below by the Qatari government, the other by a prominent Egyptian lawmaker, which you can read here.

In a region dominated by state-controlled media, the Al Jazeera television network stands out as an independent source of information for millions of people on the Arabian Peninsula, throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Qatar believes that this kind of independent journalism contributes to public awareness and increased citizen engagement. We also believe that governments that enjoy the support of their citizens should have nothing to fear from television news. Our neighbors believe that independent journalism is dangerous, and they have demanded that we close down Al Jazeera.

Their governments complain that Al Jazeera’s reporting on political, economic and social developments in the region “stirs up the masses” and leads to unrest. Qatar believes that independent journalism helps keep authorities accountable and promotes good governance. Al Jazeera’s critics claim the network deceives its audience with “Qatari propaganda.” We believe such a condescending view demonstrates contempt for the intelligence and judgment of the people of the Middle East, who overwhelmingly choose to get their news from Al Jazeera rather than from their state-run broadcasters.

As the Director of Qatar’s Government Communications Office I have watched hundreds if not thousands of hours of Al Jazeera’s news coverage, and I can vouch for the fact that Al Jazeera can be both supportive and critical of the policies and actions of our neighboring governments. The same can be said of CNN, the BBC, the Associated Press or any independent international news organization. They report the news as they see it, which is what journalists are supposed to do.

And contrary to what our critics say, Al Jazeera also produces tough stories about Qatar. I seldom take a meeting with one of Qatar’s diplomats or ministers without hearing a complaint about a story on Al Jazeera. When I refer these complaints to the network’s editors they invariably respond by reciting Article 3 of the network’s charter: “Al Jazeera is committed to freedom of speech and expression, and to the efficient and professional production of independent journalism,” which, roughly translated from the Arabic, means “mind your own business.”

I have been heartened in recent weeks to see an outpouring of support for Al Jazeera. Under the headline, “Saudi Arabia’s attempt to silence Al Jazeera is outrageous,” a recent article in Britain’s Economist called the network “the only big, feisty broadcaster in the Arab world,” and stated that the demand to close Al Jazeera was “… an extraordinary, extraterritorial assault on free speech. It is as if China had ordered Britain to abolish the BBC.”

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And it’s not just journalists who are outraged. “Whether or not you watch it, like it, or agree with its editorial standpoints, Al Jazeera’s Arabic and English channels are legitimate and have many millions of viewers,” Rupert Colville, spokesperson for U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al- Hussein, said. “The demand that they be summarily closed down is, in our view, an unacceptable attack on the right to freedom of expression and opinion.”

A better approach for those who are unhappy with Al Jazeera’s coverage would be to start their own networks and openly compete in the marketplace of ideas. The Saudis have already tried this, with Al Arabiya, but it is telling that their network has failed to generate audiences anywhere near the size of Al Jazeera’s. It’s clear that Al Jazeera has earned the trust of the people of the Middle East, while other networks have not.

For more than twenty years Al Jazeera journalists have been risking their lives to tell the stories other reporters in the Middle East are afraid to tell and other governments don’t want their citizens to hear. Acceding to the demand to shut down the network would be a betrayal of these brave journalists, who have dedicated their lives and their careers to reporting the news as they see it, without fear or favor.

People can complain about Al Jazeera; that is their right. So can Qatar’s ambassadors and ministers, and so can representatives of foreign governments. We have not yielded to these criticisms in the past, and we will not yield to them now. Qatar is proud of the Al Jazeera network, and of Qatar’s role in pioneering independent journalism in the Middle East.

Going forward, we will we continue to support freedom of speech in Qatar. We will open new media outlets and invite journalists and broadcasters to make Doha their home base. We will double down on independent journalism. And we will not close down Al Jazeera.

Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani is the Director of the Government Communications Office of the State of Qatar.

13 July Letter to the Editor HE Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al-Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office The Times

Dear Sir,

Your 11 July article ‘Lines in the Desert’ is dangerously misleading. The “substance” of the blockading countries’ issue with Qatar is our independent, foreign policy – not tackling terrorism.

Let me be clear: Qatar has never, and will never support terrorism in any way.

We are a committed UK ally in the fight against terror. We have the most stringent measures to prevent money being sent abroad to charities suspected of financing terrorism, and we heavily regulate fundraising by individuals.

We have direct channels that enable us to exchange intelligence with other international security agencies, and have ensured that all humanitarian aid is monitored through the UN Financial Tracking System. This week, we signed a new agreement with the US to further strengthen our cooperation on combatting terrorism and its financing. The first and only GCC country to do so. We hope this agreement will serve as a model for others in the GCC to create such a framework with the US to unite in the fight against terrorism.

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You allege that financiers of Al-Qaeda walk freely in Qatar. This is simply not true. All individuals on UN and US sanctions lists currently in Qatar have been arrested, prosecuted, banned from traveling, had their assets frozen, and – in accordance with UN guidelines – placed under 24/7 surveillance.

You hold up Saudi Arabia as a shining example in the fight against terrorism. This is a shameful misrepresentation of the truth. Just last week, UK-based think tank the Henry Jackson Society released details of Saudi Arabia’s role as the primary sponsor of extremism in the UK. In fact, there are almost 10 times as many individuals and organizations on UN and US sanction lists from Saudi Arabia and other blockading countries as there are from Qatar.

Put simply, it is clear that the motives of our neighbours have nothing to do with fighting terrorism. This is just a smokescreen to distract from their attempt to control Qatar’s foreign policy and challenge its sovereignty.

Qatar will continue to work tirelessly to defeat the scourge of terrorism. In turn, we hope that others will not be misled by the cynical and hypocritical campaign being waged against us.

Yours,

Sheikh Saif Al-Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office, State of Qatar

Other Government Officials

13 August Qatar Will Not Be Intimidated HE Ambassador Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, Qatar’s Special Envoy on Counterterrorism and Mediation Wall Street Journal

As the Gulf crisis enters its third month, it is clear the blockade against Qatar has not succeeded.

If Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—the countries driving the confrontation, despite the appearance of a unified bloc—hoped to bring Qatar to its knees, they have failed. If they hoped to damage Qatar’s reputation and improve their own, they have failed. If they hoped to enhance their relationship with the U.S. at Qatar’s expense, again, they have failed.

Instead, the anti-Qatar smear campaign has put a spotlight on the shameful history and unsavory practices of the Saudis and Emiratis themselves. Saudi Arabia justifies the blockade by alleging that Qatari authorities “support extremists and terrorist organizations.” But the accusation only reminds observers that the Saudis have consistently failed to prevent the radicalization of their citizens.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks were Saudis. Thousands of Saudi citizens have taken up arms to join Islamic State and other radical groups. Saudi textbooks are used in ISIS schools. Many of the five dozen groups that the U.S. State Department designates as terror organizations are funded by Saudi nationals.

The Emirates have taken a similarly hypocritical stance. While the U.A.E. falsely portrays itself as America’s best ally in the region, its track record is no better than Saudi Arabia’s. Two Emiratis

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participated in the Sept. 11 hijackings, and the staff report to the 9/11 Commission revealed that much of the funding for the attacks flowed through the U.A.E., which was a world hub for money laundering.

The U.A.E. has fared no better with regard to freedom of speech and press. In 2014 authorities arrested a man for plotting a terrorist attack on a Formula One racetrack in Abu Dhabi. But the Emirates prohibited international media outlets from reporting on the trial. The U.A.E.’s recent clampdown on free speech has been widely condemned, especially after the country’s Justice Ministry said in June that supporting Qatar on social media could be punishable by fines and even prison time.

Meanwhile, leaked emails show that Emirati officials were conspiring with a variety of interest groups and lobbyists on a campaign to slander Qatar long before the blockade was imposed. Now intelligence experts and Qatar’s cybersecurity services have identified the U.A.E. as the perpetrator of the hacking of Qatar News Agency, which set the entire Gulf crisis in motion.

Surely this kind of publicity can’t be what the Saudis and Emiratis hoped for when they instigated this crisis. Yet the longer the blockade goes on, the more damaging information the world will learn about them—and the more difficult it will be to resolve their differences with Qatar.

It’s time to abandon the public-relations campaigns, the blockade, the ultimatums and the pressure tactics and meet at the negotiating table, so we can broker a fair and just resolution to the Gulf crisis.

Mr. Al-Qahtani is special envoy for Qatar’s foreign minister for counterterrorism and mediation of conflict resolution.

27 July End the Blockade against Qatar HE Ali Shareef Al Emadi, Minister of Finance Bloomberg

For two months, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have led an illegal and unwarranted blockade on Qatar. The blockaders have attempted to use trade and economic levers as weapons – by closing borders, forbidding exports to Qatar, forcibly recalling their citizens, and censoring information.

Qatar has successfully rejected these attempts to curb its sovereignty, as our citizens and residents have responded valiantly to every challenge and obstacle.

Our strength traces back to our independence in 1971, when an early decision was made to always pursue dialogue and diplomacy over threats and force. At the same time, we resolved to guide economic and investment decisions by taking the long view toward our interests at home, in the region and globally.

This approach has borne fruit. The City Center D.C project in America’s capital is a prime example: Qatari Diar’s $1.5 billion investment in this commercial and residential project, the largest private- sector investment in Washington, has created jobs and provided an anchor for future development in the city.

Its success is being replicated near Sabine Pass, Texas, where Qatar Petroleum has partnered with two other leading energy companies – ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips –to build one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas terminals. This $10 billion project will generate thousands of jobs in the U.S. and push forward billions of dollars in economic development.

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These projects come in addition to the $27 billion that Qatar has invested in the U.S. in the past two years, and the nearly $10 billion more slated for new and existing projects in years ahead.

We have also made significant investments at home. Today Qatar has one of the world's largest modern airports, which is now accommodating an increased volume of air cargo from global trading partners – to mitigate shortfalls from the blockading nations. Our new seaport has been vital in enabling the flow of food, provisions and building materials into the country. Day-to-day life in Qatar has continued without interruption.

Just as important, Qatar continues to be the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Not a single shipment has been missed or delayed – even those to the blockading UAE. While they have cut off exports to Qatar, we have continued to supply 40 percent of the UAE's daily LNG consumption via the Dolphin Pipeline.

We do this because Qatar does not use economic tools to harm trading partners. Nor do we leverage business deals for political gain. We want the companies and countries we invest in to know that Qatar keeps business and politics separate. It is why we honor our business agreements with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and keep our skies open to all carriers.

These same countries are recalling their citizens and expelling Qataris, forcing people to sell assets or in some cases forfeit businesses they have spent years building. Then there is the regrettable human cost – families split apart when only one parent is Qatari.

Despite the blockading countries' behavior, we will not fundamentally change our approach. Speaking to the people last week, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, emir of Qatar, called for more initiative and investment to diversify the economy, and for Qatar to achieve greater economic independence through bilateral cooperation regionally and globally, but to always ground its partnerships in mutual interest and respect.

Qatar still wants to achieve the good relations, economic growth and opportunities that the leaders of our countries envisioned when they created the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981. With their blockade, the other GCC members are doing the opposite.

Repairing the economic and social damage this is causing will not be easy. But it must start with ending the blockade and allowing reasonable dialogue to begin. As Henry Ford said, "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." Let us end this disastrous impasse and aim for success.

6 July Qatar Stands Up to the Neighborhood Bullies HE Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiya, Qatar’s ambassador to Russia New York Times

My country, Qatar, is a nation under siege. For the past month, its borders and airline routes have been closed off by a regional bloc consisting of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. The authorities in the neighboring Gulf states have forced the repatriation of Qatari citizens, regardless of age and health.

The bloc has issued a list of wild accusations against Qatar. They include the hosting of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in our capital, Doha; the funding of the pro-Iranian Lebanese militia

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organization Hezbollah; and support for the Islamic State terrorist group. This hardly makes sense since Hezbollah and the Islamic State are sworn enemies, at war with each other in Syria.

Other claims are equally spurious. Qatar stands accused of supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Yet, until this blockade started, my country participated in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and lost soldiers fighting the Houthi rebels. This accusation is an insult to their memory.

The Gulf bloc also came up with a list of purported terrorist groups and individuals whom Qatar supposedly hosts or sponsors. One of them is, in fact, a Yemeni Salafist leader who lives in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Others named do not live in Qatar and have no connection to Doha.

Just as in 1914, when the Austro-Hungarian government came up with a list of impossible and unjustifiable demands as a pretext to attack Serbia, so Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Egypt and Bahrain have given my country a demeaning and insulting list of conditions to be met to get this unwarranted siege lifted.

Qatar received no previous notice of these demands. Despite our membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council, we were never even asked to discuss them. With the expiry of the bloc’s ultimatum, the Saudi alliance is threatening additional sanctions.

Thousands of Qatari citizens have been affected. My own mother was making the pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, when the blockade began; she was forced to return to Doha in a humiliating, inconvenient way. Given the kingdom’s claim to protect Islam’s holy sites and the visitors to them, this exclusion of pilgrims is an offense to the Islamic world.

Among the conditions the bloc is attempting to impose on Qatar is that we close down a number of Qatari news organizations, including the award-winning satellite channel Al Jazeera, as well as other London-based outlets. Qatar’s stand is clear: We support the freedom of the press — these outlets have been free to publish content critical of Qatar itself, including about this blockade — and the bloc’s demand that these outlets be closed is unacceptable.

Al Jazeera has achieved international recognition for its reporting in the Middle East, where most other media groups are either slavishly pro-regime or heavily censored. During the Arab Spring, media outlets in the bloc countries typically showed serene and peaceful scenes in cities where, in reality, demonstrators were being mowed down by security forces. These countries operated a virtual news blackout against their pro-democracy movements; now they cannot forgive us because their citizens could tune in to Al Jazeera and know the truth.

Today, the talk shows and social media platforms of the state-supported media in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates do their masters’ bidding and call for regime change in Qatar. Some talk-show hosts and their guests have even called for terrorists attacks on Qatari soil. Senior Qatari officials have been subjected to character assassinations and insults. In Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, dissent has been criminalized, and anyone speaking up online for Qatar faces prosecution and up to 15 years in prison.

This campaign has been orchestrated from the top. A Saudi state minister and media adviser to the new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, said on Twitter that he hoped the Qataris “don’t accept” the demands, and “we’ve only just begun.” Deliberately escalating the tension into an implied threat against our very sovereignty, the Dubai deputy chief of police and general security tweeted, “Qatar has always been a part of the U.A.E. that cannot be taken from it.”

Let’s be clear: Qatar is being punished because conservative actors in the bloc, emboldened by changes in the geopolitical balance in the region, see an opportunity to show people in the Arab world

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that if you dare to dream of change, the autocratic regimes will mow you down. But Qatar will not back down from this unprovoked attack.

Qatar is a sovereign state proud to be at the forefront of development in the Arab world. It embraces change, encourages debate and supports those who need help, whatever their ethnic or religious background. When the Arab Spring came, it did not do so for one religion or sect but for all citizens in the region.

Besides Qatar’s participation in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, we are also an active member of the American-led multinational alliance against terrorism. United States Air Force strikes against the Islamic State in Syria, and against terrorist groups in Afghanistan, take off from Al Udeid Air Base. Qatar is a key logistics hub in the international fight against terrorism, and we have given it major financial and political support. We take satisfaction in this record.

In contrast to many regimes in the region, Qatar has championed American values, including constitutional government, freedom of speech and human rights. The Trump administration should advise its Gulf allies to change course. If the United States continues to stand by and acquiesce to the bloc’s hostile action against Qatar, which can drag our region only deeper into division and instability, American interests in the Middle East will be imperilled.

5 July Qatar’s crisis can only end if we sit down together and resolve it as brothers HE Yousef Ali Al-Khater, Qatar’s ambassador to UK Daily Telegraph

On June 5 the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) did something unprecedented in the history of the Gulf Cooperation Council: they initiated a diplomatic, economic and social blockade of a brother country, Qatar. On June 23, these same governments issued a set of demands they said Qatar must meet for the blockade to be lifted. We in Qatar hope that this crisis can be resolved through dialogue and negotiation before it escalates further.

The premises behind the actions taken by the blockading nations appear to be that Qatar supports terrorism, interferes in the internal affairs of its neighbours, and is a secret ally of Iran.

We do not and we are not.

In our view, the issues raised by the Saudis and the Emiratis are just a smokescreen for their real objective: to limit the sovereignty and independence of Qatar.

To be clear: Qatar does not support terrorism in any way, shape or form. We believe that it violates our principles, our values, and our faith.

Furthermore, as both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are well aware, the governments of all of the nations in the Gulf are prime targets for these extremist groups. Qatar would be foolish to support those who have vowed to do us harm.

The claim that Qatar is a secret ally of Iran, which resonates with many on the Arabian Peninsula who feel threatened by Iran’s ambitions, is also untrue.

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It is correct that our government maintains diplomatic and trade relations with Iran, but so does every government in the Gulf. In fact, Iran’s biggest trading partner is one of the nations now leading the anti-Qatar blockade: the UAE.

And the charge that Qatar interferes in the internal affairs of its neighbours is really about one thing: the free and independent reporting of the Al Jazeera news network.

In a region dominated by state-controlled media, Al Jazeera stands out as an independent source of information for millions of people on the Arabian Peninsula and around the world. We are proud of the Al Jazeera network. Our neighbours would like to silence it.

We believe that the real motives of the blockading nations can best be understood in the context of the Arab Spring and its aftermath.

In 2011, Qatar took a principled position on the popular movements that were breaking out across the region. We supported the people against the despots and we favoured change over the status quo.

Our views were in alignment with many Western governments, but were anathema to the attitudes of our neighbours, who worried that the tides of history would sweep them from power.

In the end, of course, counter-revolutions succeeded in reversing most of the gains of the Arab Spring. But Qatar has held fast to its principled positions.

Qatar also believes that dialogue and negotiation can prevent conflict. For that reason, we have pursued an “open door” foreign policy that creates a safe space for adversaries to meet and express their views.

In the recent past we have hosted delegations from Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Israel, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the representatives of many Western governments for discussions about the challenging issues confronting us in the Middle East.

The blockading nations have sought to portray our engagement with some of these groups as “support” for their agendas and ideologies. It is neither. We engage with them to encourage non- violent solutions to the problems in our region, and we are proud of our efforts to advance the cause of peace.

The Gulf Cooperation Council was created, in part, to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes among the member nations. We hope that Saudi Arabia and the UAE will lift their blockade of our nation so we can sit together and resolve our differences as brothers.

22 June The blockade on Qatar is a smokescreen. Here’s what’s behind it HE Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to US The Washington Post

Today is Day 18 of the diplomatic, economic and social blockade of Qatar by several of its Arab neighbors, and so far, no conditions for the lifting of the blockade have been presented to us. On Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: “The more time goes by, the more doubt is raised about the actions taken by Saudi Arabia and the UAE [United Arab Emirates]. At this point we are left with one simple question: Were the actions really about their concerns regarding

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Qatar’s alleged support for terrorism, or were they about the long-simmering grievances between and among the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries?”

Our government has maintained, from Day 1, that the blockade has nothing to do with the accusations that have been leveled against Qatar. The allegations that Qatar supports terrorism and that Qatar is a secret ally of Iran are, as the State Department suspects, just a smokescreen for an attempt to infringe upon Qatar’s sovereignty and punish Qatar for its independence.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have portrayed their anti-Qatar campaign as an attempt to force Qatar to abandon its “support for terrorists,” though they know that we do not, have not and never will support terrorism. They know terrorism poses just as much of a threat to Qatar as it does to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and every other nation.

The second big lie in this smear campaign is that Qatar is a secret ally of Iran. The Saudis, the UAE and every government in the Gulf maintain diplomatic and trade relations with Iran. In fact, Iran’s biggest trading partner is the nation now leading the anti-Qatar blockade: the UAE. But more important, Qatar has been providing vital support to the opposition in Syria — which is battling against government forces allied with Iran.

Behind the smokescreen, we believe that the blockading nations are seeking to isolate and punish Qatar for our independence and to retaliate against us for supporting the true aspirations of people against tyrants and dictators.

There must always be a doorway to end discord, and Qatar has always believed that dialogue, negotiation and compromise are solutions to violence and conflict. We have fostered those discussions through an “open-door” foreign policy throughout our history.

Delegations from the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Israel, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood and representatives of Western governments have all sat at the negotiating table in Doha for peaceful discussions on the major issues confronting the Middle East. This open-door policy allows us to intercede on behalf of governments, such as the United States, that from time to time need to engage but have no communication channels of their own. Qatar has long been the region’s central negotiating table, and for that we will not apologize.

The blockading countries claim that our willingness to engage with these groups implies our support for their ideologies and agendas. It does not. In fact, our views are often diametrically opposed to the groups we host in Doha. One cannot find, let alone reach, the negotiating table if the door is closed.

The blockading countries are clearly seeking to drive a wedge between Qatar and the United States for their own political gain. Were it to succeed, this could have profoundly negative effects on efforts to combat the Islamic State and other threats in the region and around the world. As the Qatari government has made clear, and as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent remarks indicate, these countries will not succeed in diverting either the United States or Qatar from this critical mission.

As the U.S. government has made clear, American officials know that Qatar is a reliable ally and a strong partner for the United States, in good times and in bad. They know that we are an active participant in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State and that we work closely with U.S. security agencies to identify suspected terrorists and interdict sources of terrorism finance. They further recognize the important role Qatar played in hosting Al Udeid Air Base at a time when other nations in the Middle East denied the United States a military presence on their soil.

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Qatar’s policies are rational, moral and just, and our efforts to foster dialogue and oppose tyranny will lead to a better future not only for our people but also for the world. Qatar has the right to chart its own course, without the interference of other nations, and that is what we can and will do. The door to the negotiating table will stay open.

18 June Qatar Responds to U.A.E., Saudi Charges HE Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to US Wall Street Journal

In his June 13 op-ed “Qatar Cannot Have It Both Ways,” United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba demands that Qatar be “all in” in the fight against terrorism. I can assure him that we are. The better question might be, where do the U.A.E. and the other nations currently boycotting Qatar stand on this existential threat?

Ambassador Otaiba must certainly be aware that the United Nations and the U.S. Treasury Department list 10 times as many suspected terrorists and terrorist financiers from the boycotting countries as from Qatar. Surely his excellency also remembers that the U.A.E. was singled out in the 9/11 Commission’s report for its role in laundering money to terrorists, and that Emiratis, not Qataris, were among the hijackers who flew planes into the Twin Towers.

Ambassador Otaiba calls upon Qatar “to return to the community of responsible nations,” and criticizes television news channel Al Jazeera for inciting violence, though he fails to mention that the U.A.E. financed the military coup that overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected government, and that the U.A.E. allegedly bankrolled the coup plotters who attempted to overthrow the elected government in Turkey.

The ambassador writes that the U.A.E. did not act “in haste” against Qatar, yet the U.A.E. never brought any of its complaints to the responsible entities at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) before launching aggressive diplomatic and economic measures against us. Instead, as leaked emails show, the ambassador and the U.A.E. government privately conspired against Qatar in the shadows.

It has become clear that the current campaign against Qatar is not about terrorism, Al Jazeera or any of the other issues highlighted by the boycotting nations. It is about Qatar’s independence, which some apparently view as a threat. We would like our brothers in the GCC to know that we are a threat to no one. But they should also understand that Qatar is a sovereign nation, and that we will not be bullied.

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