Qatar isolated politically and geographically by its neighbours, the causes
Rights — di Andrea Barolini
There is a web of political and financial interests behind the Arab decision to isolate Qatar, accused of supporting terrorism.
Qatar isolated politically and geographically by its neighbours, the causes
There is a web of political and financial interests behind the Arab decision to isolate Qatar, accused of supporting terrorism.
For the Sunni Arab countries, a great rupture has opened up. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Bahrain announced on 5 June, in the wake of the London attacks, the severing of diplomatic relations with Qatar, accused of financing and supporting terrorism. Doha's reaction was immediate and particularly firm: "This is an unjustified and unfounded decision," the authorities stated, adding that it had been taken "in concert with Egypt" and with the "clear objective of harming Qatar's sovereignty".
The rift comes shortly after the controversial visit by United States president Donald Trump to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, during which the American leader issued a call to Muslim countries to "drive out terrorists", while also demanding the isolation of Iran. The latter — the scene, on the morning of 7 June, of an attack at the very heart of its institutions and at one of the sacred sites of the Islamic republic — represents one of the main points of contention between Qatar and the Gulf nations.
The hacker attack and the (denied) statements by the sheikh
In the fifteen days leading up to the rupture, an exchange of accusations, invective and contradictory reports took place between the parties involved. A bitter dispute that was amplified by the major Arab media, largely funded by the same local petro-monarchies. It all began on 23 May, when Qatar's official news agency reported that it had been the victim of a hacker attack, resulting in the spread of false news (or at least news firmly denied). In particular, statements never actually made were attributed to one of the nation's leaders, Tamim al-Thani.
In the offending remarks, the sheikh had stressed the need to engage with Iran, described as the "heavyweight of the Islamic world that we cannot ignore", while also defending the armed groups of Palestine and Lebanon, Hamas and Hezbollah. It is no coincidence that Israel welcomed the news of Qatar's isolation with satisfaction, hoping for a cut in funding to the Palestinian organisation, which Tel Aviv regards as terrorist in nature.
Qatar and Iran bound together by the world's largest natural gas field
Despite Qatar's immediate denials, however, Saudi, Egyptian and Emirati television channels and newspapers repeatedly amplified the alleged statements by al-Thani. So much so that within a matter of hours tens of thousands of tweets had been counted. This took place in continuity with the extensive coverage given to Trump's visit, which marked a rapprochement between the United States and "moderate Arab countries", in stark contrast to the policy pursued by Barack Obama, characterised by the desire to conclude a deal on the Iranian nuclear programme. According to the new American president, Tehran is nothing more than "a destabilising element" in the Arab world.
Qatar calls for coordinated South Pars/North Dome output interfaxenergy.com/25800
For Doha, however, Iran represents a fundamental ally. The tiny and extremely wealthy Arab state has no choice but to maintain good relations with Tehran, given that it shares with Iran a primary national interest: gas. The two nations are indeed co-owners of the world's largest offshore natural gas field, the South Pars – North Dome, straddling their respective territorial waters. A financial windfall significant enough to have allowed the Sunni monarchy and the Shia Islamic republic to immediately set aside their differences.
"Donald Trump was the detonator"
"Trump's support allowed Saudi Arabia to reassert its leadership in the region and to attack Iran. He acted as a detonator," Hasni Abidi, director of the Centre for Studies and Research on the Arab World in Geneva, observed to the French daily Libération. The justification of the fight against terrorism appeared to the scholar as a pretextual argument. An official Saudi communiqué accuses Qatar of "harbouring several extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Isis and Al-Qaeda". Which, more than striking a blow against the emirate, placed the three organisations on the same level, to the great satisfaction of Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who long ago placed the "brotherhood" on the blacklist of terrorist organisations.
"The doctrine of the Muslim Brotherhood, very far removed from Wahhabism (a Saudi political-religious movement founded by Mohammed ben Abdelwahhab, ed.), aims at a sharing of power that is inconceivable for Saudi Arabia," observed Karim Sader, a lecturer at the University of Beirut, in Lebanon. It is true, however, that Qatar has given shelter to numerous leaders of Tunisian, Egyptian, Syrian and other nations' Islamist opposition movements. Offering them also a slot in the schedule of the Qatari television channel Al Jazeera.
The accusations against Al Jazeera of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood
The broadcaster represents another element of discord in the Sunni Arab world. The television channel is accused of having helped the Muslim Brotherhood make inroads in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, from the period of the "Arab Spring" onwards. It is no coincidence that Saudi Arabia on Monday closed Al Jazeera's offices on its territory and withdrew its broadcasting licence.
#UPDATE Saudi Arabia accused Al-Jazeera of promoting "terrorist groups" and supporting rebels in Yemen u.afp.com/4eNK
A decision that Riyadh had been contemplating for some time, having repeatedly criticised the broadcaster's editorial line on the question of Syria. The Qatari channel had indeed followed the crisis in the shadow of the small emirate's own policy, which also signed a significant economic and strategic agreement with Putin's Russia (a supporter of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad) linked to the fortunes of the conflict. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, has always sided with the United States' position of opposition to Damascus.
The possible mediation of Kuwait or the Sultanate of Oman
In this highly complex scenario, the current situation is nonetheless considered the most serious crisis among the Arab Gulf states in the past thirty years. It should be noted, however, that a diplomatic rupture had already occurred in 2014, with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalling their ambassadors from Qatar for eight months. "Peace" came approximately a year later, with Doha handing over a number of Saudi opposition figures and imposing a ban on a well-known Egyptian Islamist preacher, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, from appearing on Al Jazeera.
This time, too, mediation could calm the waters. According to Sader, Kuwait or the Sultanate of Oman (which have so far remained neutral) could lead such efforts. Turkey, meanwhile, has already declared itself ready to facilitate dialogue. All the more so given that Qatar may feel sufficiently reassured even in the face of Trump's tone, since the United States maintains on the emirate's territory a military base of crucial importance, the Al Udeid Air Base, where approximately 10,000 American soldiers and civilian personnel are stationed and which Washington would be hard-pressed to do without.
For now, the only practical consequences of Qatar's isolation have been felt at airports, with numerous flights cancelled, and in Yemen, where the emirate has been excluded from the Saudi-led international military coalition.