UAE pressures Qatar, threatens to jail sympathizers
Qataris no longer allowed to land at any airport in Emirates
DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates tightened the squeeze on fellow Gulf state Qatar on Wednesday, threatening anyone publishing expressions of sympathy toward it with up to 15 years in prison and barring entry to Qataris.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash also told Reuters there would be more curbs if necessary and said Qatar needed to make iron-clad commitments to change its policy on funding terrorists. Qatar denies any such backing. Efforts to defuse the regional crisis – triggered on Monday when several countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar over support for Islamist groups and Iran – showed no immediate signs of success.
Those breaking ties with Qatar are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the Maldives, Mauritania and Libya’s eastern-based government. Jordan has downgraded its diplomatic representation and revoked the license of Doha-based TV channel Al Jazeera.
US President Donald Trump took sides in the rift on Tuesday, praising the actions against Qatar, but later spoke by phone with Saudi King Salman and stressed the need for Gulf unity.
Trump’s defense secretary, James Mattis, also spoke to his Qatari counterpart to express commitment to the Gulf region’s security. Qatar hosts 8,000 US military personnel at al-Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East and a launchpad for US-led strikes on Islamic State.
Kuwait’s emir has also been seeking to mediate, meeting Saudi’s king on Tuesday.
Qatar’s sudden isolation has led to the country holding talks with Turkey, Iran and others to secure food and water supplies, according to a Qatari official.
UAE-based newspaper Gulf News and pan-Arab channel Al-Arabiya reported the crackdown on expressions of sympathy with Qatar.
“Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias toward Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form,” Gulf News quoted UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi as saying.
On top of a possible jail term, offenders could also be hit with a fine of at least 500,000 dirhams, the newspaper said, citing a statement to Arabic-language media.
Since the diplomatic row erupted, slogans against and in support of Qatar have dominated Twitter in Arabic, a platform used widely in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
Newspapers and television channels in the region have also been engaged in a war of words over Qatar.
Allegations of Islamist sympathies and support have for years strained Doha’s relations with its Gulf Arab neighbors, who consider movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood a security threat.
In another move by Arab powers to isolate the Gulf state, Qataris will no longer be allowed to land at any airports in the United Arab Emirates or to catch connecting flights there.
UAE airlines Etihad and Emirates announced the details of the travel restrictions on Wednesday after Australian carrier and Emirates partner Qantas Airways said it would not fly Qataris to Dubai because of the government restrictions.
Abu Dhabi-owned Etihad also said foreigners living in Qatar with residence permits would no longer be eligible for visas upon arrival in the United Arab Emirates.
Several Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE, cut ties with Qatar on Monday over its support for terrorism.
The UAE had already said Qataris would not be allowed to enter the country, though the practical impact on airline passengers had been unclear. The airlines have now clarified that Qataris cannot fly to Abu Dhabi or Dubai even to change planes.
The travel curbs add to the woes of Qatar’s flagship airline Qatar Airways, which has now lost access to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, its two key markets for transfer passengers, said John Strickland, director at JLS Consulting.
Etihad Airways, meanwhile, said all travelers holding Qatari passports were currently prohibited from traveling to or transiting through the emirates, on government instructions.
Foreigners residing in Qatar and in possession of a Qatari residence visa would also not be eligible for visa on arrival in the UAE, Etihad spokesman said in an email.
“This ruling applies to all airlines flying into the UAE,” the spokesman said in the statement.
Qataris were loading up on supplies in supermarkets, fearing shortages.
One official in Doha, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were enough grain supplies to last four weeks and that the government also had large strategic food reserves. But talks were under way to ensure supplies.
“We are in talks with Turkey and Iran and other countries,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
He said supplies would be brought in through Qatar Airways cargo flights.
Closing all transport links with Qatar, the three Gulf states who have moved against Doha gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt banned Qatari planes from landing and forbade them from crossing their air space.
“This is a very diverse relationship that Qatar has with the UAE and with Saudi and Bahrain – families, business, travel, interests... It will be quite complex to disentangle, but we are intent on saying we cannot go back to the status quo ante,” Gargash, the UAE minister, told Reuters in an interview.
He said more steps against Qatar, including further curbs on business, remain on the table.
“We hope that cooler heads will prevail, that wiser heads will prevail and we will not get to that,” he said.