QATAR: Days Of The Qatar Crisis

The Muslim Brotherhood Is the Root of the Qatar Crisis The Saudi-led bloc has made 13 demands of Doha, but they’re mostly about resolving one issue—and time is almost up.

Monday marked the end of the 10 days that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt gave Qatar to comply with 13 far-reaching demands.

For starters, Qatar is being told to cut off relations with Iran, shutter Al Jazeera, and stop granting Qatari citizenship to other countries’ exiled oppositionists. Despite high-level American and Kuwaiti mediation efforts, a deal appears unlikely.

Qatar considers the demands an assault on its sovereignty and has refused to buckle to pressure. The other four countries, which declared an economic and diplomatic embargo on Doha on June 5, have repeatedly insisted that their demands are non-negotiable, and have promised further escalation if the deadline passes without an agreement.

On the surface, the policy disagreements at the center of this rift aren’t new. The anti-Qatar bloc has long viewed Doha as too chummy with Iran, too provocative in its backing of Al Jazeera and similar media outlets, and too supportive of Islamist movements.

What’s new is the zero-sum stakes that the anti-Qatar bloc perceives in the current standoff. Saudi Arabia and the UAE particularly view Qatar’s support for Muslim Brotherhood affiliates as lethally threatening to their own regimes, and therefore see Qatar’s behavior as not merely objectionable, but utterly intolerable.

In fact, while the countries’ 13 demands of Qatar include a range of issues, the overwhelming majority are relevant to their ongoing concerns about Qatar’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, and reflect these countries’ desire to nip what they view as an existential threat in the bud. In a sense, the Gulf monarchies have worried about their long-term stability ever since late 2010, when a series of popular uprisings started upending autocratic regimes across the Middle East and North Africa.

While the activists at the forefront of those uprisings demanded political reform and economic equality, the so-called “Arab Spring” rapidly descended into a series of bitter power struggles. In the deadliest of cases, civil wars erupted in Syria and Libya, as regimes responded brutally to protests, fomenting conflicts in which hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions have been displaced.

But even in less violent instances, the regimes quickly faced zero-sum stakes: Deposed Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled into exile, while his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak was tried and jailed.

These events, and Washington’s embrace of the various protest movements, unnerved the Gulf monarchies—including Qatar to
some extent. While Al Jazeera covered the January 2011 uprising in Egypt very aggressively, it joined its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) partners in opposing the subsequent uprising in Bahrain, and it participated in the March 2011 Saudi-led military intervention to support the Bahraini monarchy as it quashed the protests.

But as Muslim Brotherhood organizations rose politically in the aftermath of these uprisings, Qatar charted a separate course and strongly backed these groups. Doha’s decision partly reflected its ideological inclinations: The emir was infamously close with Egyptian-born cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the de facto Brotherhood spiritual guide who had lived in Qatar since 1961, and Al Jazeera had long provided a platform for Qaradawi and other Brotherhood figures to promote the group’s theocratic ideology.

But it also reflected Doha’s strategic considerations: With Brotherhood affiliates winning elections in Egypt and Tunisia, the Brotherhood appeared to be the political wave of the future. And the Brotherhood presented no internal risk to the Qatari regime, because Doha had dissolved the domestic Brotherhood chapter in 1999.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, however, saw the Muslim Brotherhood’s emergence as severely threatening. After all, the Brotherhood seeks to establish a “global Islamic state” under its own control, which implies toppling those Muslim governments that are not Brotherhood-ruled in the long run.

Both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi feared that the Brotherhood’s success in Egypt, Tunisia, and beyond would energize underground Brotherhood groups within their respective countries. Indeed, the Emirati government had been working to dissolve the local Brotherhood branch, known as al-Islah, since 1994, and it viewed al-Islah’s traditional influence within the state’s educational institutions as particularly worrisome.

Initially, Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi attempted to assuage these fears by visiting Riyadh shortly after he won Egypt’s June 2012 presidential elections, and the UAE tried to engage Morsi by inviting him to Abu Dhabi. But Brotherhood leaders’ persistent and vocal criticisms of the UAE, particularly regarding Abu Dhabi’s prosecution of al-Islah in 2013, exacerbated Saudi and Emirati concerns about the Brotherhood’s long-term intentions.

So when Egypt’s military responded to mass protests by ousting Morsi in July 2013, Saudi Arabia and the UAE believed that they had dodged a bullet, and saw the ensuing struggle against the Brotherhood in existential terms. They therefore generously supported then-Defense Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as he brutally repressed the Brotherhood, seeing their own fates as tied to the Brotherhood’s defeat.

Yet despite the lethal threat that its GCC partners saw in the Brotherhood, Qatar continued to chart a pro-Brotherhood course. Following the Egyptian coup, Qatar granted refuge to some Brotherhood leaders who escaped from Egypt, and Al Jazeera housed them in a five-star Doha hotel and granted them regular airtime for promoting their cause.

Al Jazeera also aired the Brotherhood’s ongoing anti-coup protests, and in some cases allegedly paid Muslim Brothers for the footage. In response, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in March 2014, accusing it of violating the GCC’s principle against interfering in members’ domestic affairs.

The standoff was resolved quietly two months later, and Egyptian Brotherhood leaders left Doha later that year. But from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE’s standpoint, Qatar never lived up to the 2014 agreement and continued to serve as the nexus of the Brotherhood’s regional networks.

After all, Qatar still houses the leadership of Hamas, which has long identified as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Hamas recently distanced itself from the international Brotherhood movement, but its leader affirmed that it remains part of the Brotherhood’s intellectual school and he made this announcement from Doha.

Moreover, Al Jazeera continues to promote Brotherhood voices, and other Qatari-funded outlets and think tanks often employ Brotherhood cadres and allies. For example, until recently, former Brotherhood youth Islam Lotfy was chairman of the satellite network Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Qaradawi still enjoys a platform. So it should come as no surprise that anxiety about the Muslim Brotherhood is at the center of the Gulf crisis—and the list of 13 demands. The second demand orders Doha to cut all ties to terrorist organizations, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, and to declare the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

The third demand calls for shutting down Al Jazeera and its affiliate stations, which these countries view as a Brotherhood mouthpiece, and the fourth demand similarly calls for the closure of at least four other outlets that are regarded as staunchly pro-Brotherhood.

The fifth demand calls on Doha to immediately terminate the Turkish military presence currently in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside Qatar. This reflects the four countries’ concerns regarding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vocal sympathy with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s anti-coup cause, and the prospect that Turkish influence within Qatar might consolidate Qatari support for Brotherhood organizations.

The sixth demand orders Doha to stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organizations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, the U.S. and other countries, which includes many Brotherhood affiliates.

The seventh demand asks Qatar to hand over terrorist figures and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain to their countries of origin, a list that includes Brotherhood cadres and supporters, including Qaradawi.

The eighth demand calls on Doha to end interference in sovereign countries’ internal affairs, which encompasses Brotherhood affiliates across the region, and the ninth demand effectively repeats this: Stop all contacts with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain.

Hand over all files detailing Qatar’s prior contacts with and support for those opposition groups.What will Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt actually do if Qatar doesn’t bend? The UAE ambassador to Russia threatened secondary sanctions against Qatar.

A column in the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya went much further, warning Doha that its failure to accept the 13 demands may be like Rabaa Square,a reference to Egyptian security forces’ August 14, 2013 massacre of Muslim Brotherhood members and allies, in which hundreds were killed.

In other words, this rift is also existential for the Qatari government. But given the country’s long history of coups and abdications, there are no good answers for Doha. Refusing to comply with the 13 demands will exacerbate the external threat it faces, but yielding to those demands will show weakness domestically, and could make the emir vulnerable.

So what next?



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QATAR: After 10 Days Ultimatum, Qatar Given Another 48 Hours To Accept Demands By Arab Countries

Foreign ministers of nations boycotting Qatar will meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss their next steps.

Saudi Arabia and three allies boycotting Qatar have agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend by 48 hours Sunday's deadline for Doha to comply with a set of demands, according to a joint statement on Saudi state news agency SPA.

Kuwait had received a response by Qatar to a list of 13 demands presented to it by a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries, Kuwait's state news agency KUNA said on Monday.

Without stating whether Qatar had rejected the ultimatum as was widely expected, Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah asked Saudi Arabia and three other countries that have boycotted Qatar to grant it a 48-hour extension.

Kuwait is mediating in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed sanctions on it on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". The allegation is rejected by Qatar.

After more than two weeks, the four countries gave Qatar a 10-day ultimatum, which expired on Sunday night, to comply with a 13-point demand list in exchange for the end of the anti-Qatar measures.

There was no other information about Qatar's official response, but the Qatari foreign minister has already said that Qatar would not meet the demands, saying the list was meant to be rejected.

Speaking on Saturday, the foreign minister said Qatar offered instead a proper condition for a dialogue to resolve the Gulf crisis.

Everyone is aware that these demands are meant to infringe the sovereignty of the state of Qatar, shut the freedom of speech and impose auditing and probation mechanism for Qatar, he said during a visit to Rome.

We believe that the world is not governed by ultimatums, we believe that the world is governed by the international law, it is governed by an order that does not allow large countries to bully small countries.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have insisted the demands were non-negotiable.

The foreign ministers of the four countries will meet on Wednesday in Egypt's capital, Cairo, to discuss their next steps, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry.

The UAE ambassador to Russia, Omar Ghobash, has previously said that Qatar could face fresh sanctions if it does not comply with the demands.

The demands submitted by the Arab neighbours included that Qatar shut down the Al Jazeera network, close a Turkish military base and scale down ties with Iran.

In the list, the four Arab countries also demand that Qatar sever all alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and ISIS, and pay an unspecified sum in compensation for what they claimed to be loss of life and other financial losses caused by Qatar's policies.

A US state department official said on Sunday that Washington encourages all parties to exercise restraint to allow for productive diplomatic discussions. We are not going to get ahead of those discussions. We fully support Kuwaiti mediation.

Saudi Arabia has reiterated that its demands to Qatar to end the standoff in the Gulf were non-negotiable.

Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi foreign minister, said on Twitter on Saturday that demands on Qatar to stop funding terrorism are non-negotiable.

Restrictions on Qatar show zero tolerance for terrorism, Jubeir said, claiming that Qatar had failed to keep previous pledges of stopping funding terrorism and interfering in other countries' affairs. Qatar denies all allegations.

Jubeir made a similar statement last week in Washington, DC, when asked by reporters if the 13 point list of demands that are widely denounced as unrealistic was non-negotiable.

We made our point, we took our steps and it's up to the Qataris to amend their behaviour and once they do, things will be worked out, but if they don't they will remain isolated, he said.

The demands issued with a 10-day deadline last week include downgrading ties with Iran, shutting down Al Jazeera Media Network and Turkish military base in Doha.

The exact time of the deadline was not discussed but it is expected to become void at the end of the ten day ultimatum.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed sanctions on the country on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The four Arab countries have not provided any evidence for their claim.

On Friday, Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani asked members of UN's Security Council to urge a Saudi-led bloc of states to lift their blockade on the Gulf country.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries that have cut ties to Qatar have reportedly issued a list of demands to end a major Gulf crisis, insisting that Qatar shut down the Al Jazeera network, close a Turkish military base and scale down ties with Iran.

In the 13-point list, the countries also demand that Qatar sever all alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and with other groups, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain cut ties to Qatar this month over allegations that the country funds terrorism,an accusation that Qatar denies.

According to the list, Qatar must refuse to naturalise citizens from the four countries and revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries' laws.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted that Qatar's neighbours provide a list of demands that was reasonable and actionable.

About Iran,Qatar must shut down diplomatic posts in Iran, expel any members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and only conduct trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US sanctions.

On Al Jazeera state that Qatar must also shut down all affiliates and other news outlets that Qatar funds, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al Araby Al Jadeed and Middle East Eye.

If Qatar agrees to comply, the list asserts that it will be audited once a month for the first year, and then once per quarter in the second year after it takes effect.

For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance.

The document does not specify what the countries will do if Qatar refuses to comply.

Demands imposed on Qatar

- Scale down diplomatic ties with Iran and close the Iranian diplomatic missions in Qatar, expel members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and cut off military and intelligence cooperation with Iran. Trade and commerce with Iran must comply with US and international sanctions in a manner that does not jeopardise the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

- Immediately shut down the Turkish military base, which is currently under construction, and halt military cooperation with Turkey inside of Qatar.

- Sever ties to all terrorist, sectarian and ideological organisations, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIL, al-Qaeda, Fateh al-Sham formerly known as the Nusra Front and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Formally declare these entities as terror groups as per the list announced by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt, and concur with all future updates of this list.

- Stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organisations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, US and other countries.

- Hand over terrorist figures, fugitives and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain to their countries of origin. Freeze their assets, and provide any desired information about their residency, movements and finances.

- Shut down Al Jazeera and its affiliate stations.

- End interference in sovereign countries' internal affairs. Stop granting citizenship to wanted nationals from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Revoke Qatari citizenship for nationals where such citizenship violates those countries' laws.

- Pay reparations and compensation for loss of life and other financial losses caused by Qatar's policies in recent years. The sum will be determined in coordination with Qatar.

- Align Qatar's military, political, social and economic policies with the other Gulf and Arab countries, as well as on economic matters, as per the 2014 agreement reached with Saudi Arabia.

- Cease contact with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Hand over files detailing Qatar’s prior contact with and support for opposition groups, and submit details of their personal information and the support Qatar has provided them.

- Shut down all news outlets funded directly and indirectly by Qatar, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al Araby Al Jadeed, Mekameleen and Middle East Eye, etc.

- Agree to all the demands within 10 days of list being submitted to Qatar, or the list will become invalid.

- Consent to monthly compliance audits in the first year after agreeing to the demands, followed by quarterly audits in the second year, and annual audits in the following 10 years.

Fikri Isik, Turkey's defence minister, said his country had no plans to review its military base in Qatar and that any demand for its closure would represent interference in the country's relations with the Gulf state.

Isik said that he had not yet seen a demand for the base to be shut.

The base in Qatar is both a Turkish base and one that will preserve the security of Qatar and the region, Isik said.

Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on our agenda.

Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra said the list will be rejected by Qatar.

Qatar has said it will only look into the demands once the sanctions are lifted, he said, adding that Qatar had already said that closing Al Jazeera was off the table.

It is a matter of national sovereignty. Anything that is presented to the Qataris which it considers to be interference in its internal affairs is going to be dismissed, Ahelbarra said.

Just yesterday the general sentiment we had was that perhaps the international community and GCC will turn toward restoring ties. But at this particular moment, I believe that there will be further escalation, mounting tension because of these demands.

To ask for compensation, you have to have the Qatari government say;Sorry, I've made mistakes, and look into every single instance where Qataris made mistakes.

This is unprecedented in the Arab world. What if the Qataris say the Saudis have to pay compensation for every single civilian killed or innocent life taken all over the world. This is really surreal, Ahelbarra added.



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QATAR: Qatar Desparately Begs Kuwait To Mediate Gulf Crisis

Kuwait is trying to mediate a Gulf crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar and moved to isolate the energy-rich travel hub from the outside world, Qatar's foreign minister said early Tuesday.

The biggest diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf since the 1991 U.S.-led war against Iraq pits several nations against Qatar, which is home to some 10,000 American troops and a major U.S. military base.

Airlines suspended flights and residents nervous about the peninsula's lone land border closing cleaned out grocery store shelves.

In an interview with Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwait's ruler had asked Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis late Monday night.

He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis, Sheikh Mohammed said.

Still, the minister struck a defiant tone, rejecting those trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs.

Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah spoke with Qatar's emir Monday evening and urged him to give a chance to efforts that could ease tensions.

The call came after a senior Saudi royal arrived in Kuwait with a message from the Saudi king. An Omani diplomat traveled to Qatar on Monday.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced Monday they would cut diplomatic ties.

Yemen's internationally backed government, which has lost the capital and large portions of the war-torn country, also cut relations with Qatar, as did the Maldives and one of conflict-ridden Libya's competing governments.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab powers severed diplomatic ties Monday with Qatar and moved to isolate the energy-rich nation that is home to a major U.S. military base, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and backing Iran.

The move came just two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and vowed to improve ties with both Riyadh and Cairo to combat terrorism and contain Iran. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in longstanding differences and urged the parties to resolve them.

Soccer's governing body FIFA said it remained in regular contact with Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup. It did not elaborate.

Saudi Arabia said it was cutting ties due to Qatar's embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qeida, the Islamic State group and militants supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive Eastern Province.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an antagonist approach toward Cairo and said all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed.

Qatar long has denied funding extremists, though Western officials have accused it of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like al-Qeida's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia.

The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.

The nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic. Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera reported trucks carrying food had begun lining up on the Saudi side of the border, apparently stranded.

The Qatar Stock Exchange fell more than 7 percent in trading Monday.

Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice.

On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.

The route between Doha and Dubai is popular among business travelers and both are major transit hubs for travelers between Asia and Europe.

FlightRadar24, a popular airplane tracking website, said Qatar Airway flights already had started to be affected.

Many of Qatar Airways flights to southern Europe and Africa pass through Saudi Arabia, the site said.

Flights to Europe will most likely be rerouted through Iran and Turkey.

QATAR: Free Transit Visa Introduced By Qatar

Qatar has, effective 01st of November 2016, introduced free transit Visa for qualifying travelers to visit Doha for up to 96 hours, i.e. four days.

Both Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism have been the main drivers of the initiative and when booking tickets with Qatar Airways can travelers now decide if they would like to take advantage of the offer, either on their outbound or inbound journey.
Qatar, already hosting regular mega sports events, will be host country for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and to see the stadia gain shape alone will be something to behold, besides the many more attractions the island state has to offer, history, heritage, culture and cuisine among others.

To ensure passengers can make the most of the new transit visa, Qatar Airways has restructured its fares for international flights transiting through Hamad International Airport. This will allow passengers to have a free stopover in Doha without any additional charges to their ticket, either on the outbound or inbound journey.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: 'Qatar Airways is proudly committed to making Doha a world-class tourist destination. Our collaboration with Qatar Tourism Authority in setting the new transit visa enables our passengers to explore the country and its hospitality. The tourism industry in Qatar is experiencing considerable growth inspired by the vision of our leadership for an economically diverse future. As a national flag-bearer and an ambassador of Qatar around the world, Qatar Airways is dedicated to providing passengers with their best experience before, during, and after their stay in our country'.

Mr. Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA, said: 'We have witnessed remarkable interest in the new transit visa scheme from passengers who anticipate a stopover in Qatar, and we expect this interest to translate into an increase in visitor arrivals over the coming months. Visa facilitation is an important factor in increasing the attractiveness of a destination, and we encourage investors and tourism business owners to capitalise on the opportunities presented by this development to diversify Qatar’s tourism products and services'.

This development, similar to schemes in place by other Gulf countries keen to reel in tourist dollars, seems strangely alien to East African countries, where, apart from lamenting that the tourist numbers do not grow fast enough, little else is done to facilitate easier and most important cheaper entry.

With Visa fees for most travelers still at 50 US Dollars for a single entry and transit Visa too being charged for the measly periods of between 48 and 72 hours, it is obvious that the Gulf states, and many other countries around the world, have figured out what it takes to have travelers stay over whereas East Africa, in this regard and inspite of world class attractions, is still in its infancy.

And here is the challenge for tourism marketers and airlines alike, to take on board lessons from countries like Qatar, without re-inventing the proverbial wheel, and drop transit Visa charges, in fact drop Visa fees altogether to make the region the magnet for travelers it should be.