Saudi-led block seeks for regime change in Qatar
By Kamila Aliyeva
Doha is willing to put an end to a five-month crisis while other Gulf States blockading Qatar are seeking "regime change".
This was stated by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani during his interview in a “60 Minutes” program aired on October 29.
He said it was ‘obvious’ that the Saudi-led block attempts to force a change of leadership in Qatar.
"History as well tells us, teaches us, they tried to do that before, in 1996 after my father became the emir. They don't like our independence, the way how we are thinking, our vision for the region. We want freedom of speech for the people of the region and they're not happy with that, and so they think that this is a threat to them," Sheikh Tamim said.
He added that the Doha-based Al Jazeera TV network will not be closed down as demanded by the four Arab states.
Qatari emir once again reconfirmed Doha’s readiness for dialogue and its intention to end the crisis.
“Nothing is going to be above our dignity, our sovereignty. But we want it to end. I always say that. If they (are) going to walk one meter toward me, I‘m willing to walk 10,000 miles towards them,” he said.
The emir also expressed concerns over regional situation if any military act happens.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier that he will not accept his friends fighting amongst themselves, according to Sheikh Tamim.
Qatari emir added that the meeting between the conflicting parties was supposed to happen very soon but there was no response from the other states.
Earlier in September, Saudi Arabia suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of ‘distorting facts’, just after a phone call between the leaders of the two countries suggested a possible breakthrough in the dispute.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a telephone conversation with Qatar’s Emir on September 8. This call marked the first public contact between the two leaders since the beginning of the crisis and was positively assessed by many. However, there have been no further contacts.
Meanwhile, Bahrain, one of the countries which broke off relations with Doha, called for freezing Qatar’s membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This step could escalate tensions even further.
Bahrain will not attend the upcoming GCC summit if Qatar does not change its stand, Bahrain’s foreign minister said on Twitter on October 29, Reuters reported.
Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa also said on his account on Twitter that “if Qatar thinks that its current playing with time and evading will buy it time till the upcoming GCC summit, then it’s mistaken. If the situation remained as it is we won’t attend this summit.”
The four Arab states boycotting Qatar said that sanctions would remain in place until it met their demands and that they would keep a close eye on the tiny Gulf monarchy’s efforts to fight terrorism funding.
They issued a 13-point list of demands to end the standoff. The demands include shutting down the Al Jazeera news network, closing a Turkish military base, cutting ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, and downgrading relations with Tehran.
Qatar insisted it would not agree to any measures that threatened its sovereignty or violated international law.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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