October 8, 2017 3 News & Analysis crisis Qatari government

Iman Zayat revokes citizenships in is Managing Editor of The Arab Weekly. crackdown on dissent Qatar’s troublesome path our months into the cultural fabric be entrusted with Mohammed Alkhereiji Gulf crisis, it has serving in the military? become increasingly This policy is not only a source obvious that the Doha of concern for the Qatari people London regime is not only run- but also a threat to their future ning into trouble with and that of their neighbours. It he Qatari government has Fits neighbours but also with its is obvious that the boycotted re- continued its crackdown own people. gime, which has put its full weight on the tribe, this Indeed, as citizens hold out hope behind the Muslim Brotherhood time targeting renowned for a way out of the stand-off with and other Islamists, threatens to Qatari poet Mohammad Arab countries and the regime obliterate the country’s national Tbin Futais al-Marri and stripping uses its power to silence dissent, a identity and ruin its Arab features. him of his citizenship in what rights sense of mistrust is growing. The strange policy of revoking groups labelled a flagrant violation Findings of a survey released Qatari nationals’ citizenship while of human rights. October 2 by the Washington Insti- granting permanent residency Marri’s citizenship was revoked tute for New East Policy indicated status to foreigners is disturbing after he opposed Doha’s views on that 81% of Qatari nationals who on another level: It shows that the . Riyadh, the United were asked said they hope the dis- Qatari regime is willing to support Arab Emirates, and Egypt pute with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the opportunistic people as long as it severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and Bahrain is flattered. in June over its alleged support for would be settled in an amicable radical groups, many with ties to fashion. Iran. The Doha regime, however, does Beneath the talk Al Arabiya news channel report- not agree with its people and has ed that Marri spoke out about four been silencing them or perma- of “permanent months into the dispute, saying he nently banishing them. residency rejected the politicisation of the haj The crackdown on dissent has and the insulting of Gulf symbols been particularly severe recently, status” for and labelling those that do such with authorities systematically “those who have things “mobs.” revoking the citizenship of those given service to “If insulting homelands is a red who oppose the policies of Qatari line, then insulting sanctities and the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Qatar” lies a Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques al-Thani. sinister reality. and scholars is a line of fire and we The latest victim of this punitive will not allow anyone to cross it or campaign was Mohammad bin Qatar’s true workers, those violate it,” Marri said in an audio re- Free spirit. Qatari poet Mohammad bin Futais al-Marri recites a Futais al-Marri, a celebrated poet really contributing to the nation- cording played on the network. poem at the Million’s Poet show in . who reportedly opposed his gov- building process, meanwhile, are Many social media comments (The Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee – Abu Dhabi) ernment’s stance towards Saudi left without assistance and subject were critical of Doha, accusing it of Arabia. to numerous rights violations, supporting and protecting the Mus- al-Hajri, head of Shaml al-Hawajer Many, however, said the arrests were This comes after Sheikh Talib said reports by the United Nations’ lim Brotherhood and its leader at the tribe, after the sheikh criticised the because the royal family branch was bin Mohammed bin Lahoum bin International Labour Organisa- expense of its own people. The Ara- Qatari government’s actions to- at odds with Sheikh Tamim. Shraim, the head of Qatar’s Al Mur- tion, Human Rights Watch and bic hashtag “Qatar naturalises agents wards its Gulf neighbours. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Abdul- rah tribe, and 54 of his relatives, Amnesty International. and expels citizens” trended in the The Qatari government’s crack- lah bin Jassem al-Thani, who lives in including women and children, Sheikh Tamim is surely walk- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) re- down is by no means exclusive to Riyadh, met with Saudi King Salman had their citizenship revoked in ing in the footsteps of his father, gion. regular citizens. Reports emerged bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during the haj September. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Revocation of citizenship is fre- that members of the Al-Thani royal season seeking help for Qatar’s pil- Oddly, Qatar’s campaign of Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim quently used as a weapon by Doha to family have also suffered Qatari grims. He was then considered an citizenship revocation coincides al-Thani, the former emir who also deal with domestic dissent and the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al- alternative to Tamim and his branch with another strange policy — the used citizenship revocation as a Al Murrah tribe has been a particular Thani’s wrath. of the family to rule Qatar. granting of permanent residency punitive measure and, at times, as target. Thousands of members of the The Geneva-based Arab Federa- status to foreigners deemed to collective punishment. tribe have been displaced and are Revocation of tion for Human Rights (AFHR) has have “given service to Qatar” From October 2004-June 2005, stateless. citizenship is condemned the moves by the Qatari or to have “skills that can benefit as many as 6,000 members of the The group, which has branches frequently used as a government. the country.” al-Ghufran branch of the Al Mur- in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has re- “The AFHR affirms that one’s Beneath this talk of “permanent rah tribe were deprived of their portedly been harassed by Qatari weapon by Doha to rights to a nationality or citizenship residency status” for “those who Qatari nationality on spurious authorities since the 1990s. Au- deal with domestic is an ‘absolute’ human right under have given service to Qatar,” how- grounds. Some were reportedly thorities revoked the citizenship dissent and the international law and human rights ever, lies a sinister reality. forced to leave Qatar and resettle of Al Murrah tribal leader Sheikh Al Murrah tribe has instruments that cannot be con- Gulf media reports state the in neighbouring countries. Others Talib bin Lahoum bin Shraim and 55 been a particular tested or denied by anyone except “permanent residency status” will were detained before being forced members of his family over alleged through genuine legal restrictions benefit thousands of terrorists and to leave. links to Saudi Arabia. target. not just on the basis of political dif- wanted criminals who were hosted The modern and wealthy Qatar During a unified Qatari opposition ferences,” an AFHR statement said. by Doha to escape justice in their that Sheikh Tamim is trying to meeting in London in September, Sheikh Tamim also jailed mem- “Thus, the act of revoking a per- home countries. promote to the West is also the Qa- Sheikh Talib said the incident oc- bers of the Al-Thani family, French son’s nationality on the grounds of Even more troubling, the new tar that turned its back on its own curred after he and other tribal lead- magazine Le Point reported. The differences in political opinions is a status will allow “permanent nationals. It is the Qatar that has ers met with Saudi Crown Prince publication, quoting an incarcerated flagrant violation by the Qatari au- foreigners” to join the Ahmed bin deprived its citizens of essential Mohammed bin Salman bin Ab- French businessman in Doha, said thorities against the poet Moham- Mohammed Military College and, rights, displaced its people and dulaziz. 20 members of the bin Ali branch of mad bin Futais al-Marri.” eventually, enlist in a foreign divi- silenced its poets. Qatari officials recently revoked the royal family had recently been The group urged the UN Human sion of Qatar’s national army. How The Qatar of Sheikh Tamim is the citizenship of another tribal arrested on charges ranging from Rights Council to intervene in the can those with no sense of belong- not the Qatar for which the chief, Sheikh Shafi Nasser Hamoud issuing bad cheques to drug use. situation. ing to the country or its social and majority of Qataris yearn. Qatari public unhappy with regime ties to Tehran

The Arab Weekly staff 81% of those surveyed said they Riyadh and several other regional October 3 for talks with the Qatari tion and a narrow majority (53%) of supported a compromise in which countries, including Qatar, severed Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al- Qataris even say that ‘the most im- all sides in the dispute agree to con- diplomatic ties with Iran. However, Thani, the first visit by an Iranian of- portant issue in this situation is to London cessions. on August 23, Qatar announced that ficial to the tiny Gulf state since the find the maximum degree of Arab Saudi Arabia, the United Arab it would reinstate full diplomatic crisis began. cooperation against Iran,’” the insti- ost Qataris who par- Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties ties with Tehran, going against one Most Gulf Cooperation Coun- tute said. ticipated in a recent with Qatar over what the quartet of of the quartet of countries’ chief cil (GCC) members view Iran as a Despite the Doha government’s poll said they would countries described as Doha’s inter- demands for negotiations to com- destabilising force due to its sup- support of the Muslim Brotherhood, like to see a compro- ference in their countries’ internal mence with Qatar. port of radical Islamist militias, Qataris in general reportedly have a mise solution to the affairs and its support for radical Iranian Foreign Minister Moham- such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and negative view of the group, which Mdispute in which Saudi Arabia and groups, such as Hamas, the Taliban mad Javad Zarif arrived in Doha on ’s Houthi rebels, who are is banned in several GCC countries. its regional allies severed ties with and the Muslim Brotherhood. The fighting a Saudi-led coalition that The survey’s findings stated that Doha. Qatari government denied the alle- supports the country’s internation- Qataris disapprove of the govern- On October 2, the Washington In- gations. ally recognised government. ment’s support of Muslim Brother- stitute for Near East Policy released The survey’s findings were re- The survey found that most Qa- hood 56% to 41%. the results of a survey by a leading leased at a time when Qatar has To preserve his taris asked said they were opposed The survey advised that Sheikh professional Arab market research been edging closer to Iran, one of domestic popularity, to Iran’s regional policies. Tamim, to preserve his domestic firm that found that an overwhelm- the boycotting countries’ main Sheikh Tamim should Tehran’s regional proxies fare popularity, should find a “middle- ing majority of Qatari respondents points of contention with the Doha worse. The survey results indicated ground exit” from the crisis and said they would like to see the con- leadership. find a “middle- that “Hezbollah and the Houthis of distance himself and his govern- flict, which began in early June, Following an attack on the Saudi ground exit” from the Yemen get negative ratings from ment from Iran and the Muslim resolved in an “amicable” manner: Embassy in Tehran in January 2016, crisis. fully 90% of Qatar’s adult popula- Brotherhood.