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lockade by its neighbouring countries. The blockade
includes banning Qatari citizens from travelling to or
transiting through their territories. This measure has torn
apart families and interrupted education and the right to
work. There are about 26.000 violations cases filed with
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee about the
blockade.
It is no secret that the real motives behind the siege and the
severing of diplomatic relations with Qatar are not aimed
at fighting terrorism. Rather, they are an attempt to force
Qatar into a state of trusteeship, to interfere in our domestic
and foreign policy, and to undermine our sovereignty.
This cannot be accepted by any country that enjoys full
independence and sovereignty.
The crisis started with the hacking of Qatar News Agency
websites and the spreading of false news attributed to
Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, and was
followed by malicious media campaigns against Qatar.
The international community is invited to shoulder its
legal and moral responsibilities to avoid holding people
responsible for political differences among governments.
The scope of these violations and damages was not limited
to individuals: the blockading countries issued a joint
list, which was prepared unilaterally, including several
individuals and entities and branded them as terrorists. The
list, however, was rejected by the United Nations (UN) as
it violates international legitimacy and human rights and
poses obstacles in the implementation of humanitarian and
development work by humanitarian organizations, some
of which have consultative status with the UN and have
extensive partnerships with various UN agencies. These sets
of measures have opened the door for politicization of the
term ‘terrorism’ in accordance with the narrow interests of
some countries. But the international community should
have a clear and firm stance against double standards
relating to terrorism.
At the end these measures against Qatar could be called
‘intellectual terrorism’ and constitute a clear and flagrant
violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression,
which was confirmed by the High Commissioner for Human
Rights in his statement issued on June 14 this year.
Qatar is in the middle of an extremely dynamic
region. How can Qatar contribute to the
stabilization of the Middle East, Eurasia, Western
Asia and Northeast Africa regions?
Qatar is an important player on the geopolitical and geoeconomic
stage. Its geostrategic position with enormous
economic resources, and the Al Jazeera channel as an
information resource, has often put it under the limelight.
Its geopolitical position as a coastal country, lying on a
peninsula, allows it to have access to almost all of the
Arabian Gulf and beyond.
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