One year on, no end in sight to Qatar crisis
BOYCOTT HAS HURT DOHA FINANCIALLY, ISOLATED IT POLITICALLY IN ARAB WORLD
Ayear-old dispute pitting an Arab quartet against Qatar is set to drag on further as Doha has failed to mend its ways, analysts have said.
“The crisis will continue for a longer time as neither side has shown a sign of backing down,” Emad Jad, an expert at the Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, said.
In June last year, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke off diplomatic and transportation links with Qatar over its support for terrorism. The four countries presented to Qatar a list of demands to end the dispute.
The list of demands included stopping support for radical groups, downgrading ties with Iran and shutting down the Doha-based Al Jazeera television network seen as a mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood designated as a terrorist organisation.
Attempts by Kuwait and some Western powers including the United States to defuse the crisis have failed.
Leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain stayed away from the GCC summit held last December in Kuwait which Qatari Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani attended.
As part of the boycott, the quartet banned Qatar Airways from their airspace, forcing the carrier to find alternative longer routes. The halted flights used to make up around 25 per cent of the airline’s traffic.
“The boycott is exacting a high cost from Qatar and its foreign currency reserves,” Jad told Gulf News. In April, Qatar’s foreign reserves dropped to $39.7 billion (Dh145.79 billion), down $6.3 billion from the same period last year, according to data from the country’s central bank.
The boycott has taken a political and economic toll on Qatar, according to Mohammad Abdul Qader, another expert at Al Ahram Centre.
In April, Qatar’s foreign reserves dropped to $39.7 billion (Dh145.79 billion), down $6.3 billion from the same period last year, data from the country’s central bank shows.
Ayear-old dispute pitting an Arab quartet against Qatar is set to drag on further as Doha has failed to mend its ways, analysts have said.
“The crisis will continue for a longer time as neither side has shown any sign of backing down,” Emad Jad, an expert at the Cairo-based Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, said.
In June last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt broke off diplomatic and transportation links with Qatar over its support for terrorism, a charge that Doha has denied.
The four countries presented to Qatar a list of demands to end the dispute.
They included stopping support for radical groups, downgrading ties with Iran and shutting down the Doha-based Al Jazeera television network seen as a mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood designated as a terrorist organisation.
Doha rejected the demands, saying they infringed on its sovereignty.
Bids by Kuwait and some Western powers including the US to defuse the crisis have failed.
“Foreign powers have their own interests on each side of the crisis. They are unlikely to apply pressure to end it,” Jad told Gulf News.
‘GCC eroded’
He added that fallout from the dispute has hit the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a grouping that comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
“The continuation of the crisis erodes the council as it is the most serious crisis this entity has faced since its creation in 1981.”
Leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain stayed away from the GCC summit held last December in Kuwait which Qatari Emir Tamim attended.
As part of the boycott, the quartet banned Qatar Airways from their airspace, forcing the carrier to find alternative
longer routes. The halted flights used to make up around 25 per cent of the Qatari airline’s traffic.
“The boycott is exacting a high cost from Qatar and its foreign currency reserves,” said Jad, who is also a member of the Egyptian parliament.
In April, Qatar’s foreign reserves dropped to $39.7 billion (Dh145.79 billion), down $6.3 billion from the same period last year, according to data from the country’s central bank.
GCC citizens used to account for half of the visitors to Qatar, but the ongoing spat has drastically curtailed their trips to
the country. In an attempt to ease the impact of the boycott, Qatar last August granted citizens of 80 countries visa-free entry, but the move seems to have had little impact.
Taking a toll
The sanctions have taken a political and economic toll on unruly Qatar, according to Mohammad Abdul Qader, another expert at Al Ahram Centre.
“The four countries have succeeded in isolating the regime as a result of its support for terrorism,” he said in an article.
Signs of this isolation have emerged in recent months.
Abdul Qader cited the semi-collective absence of Gulf leaders from the GCC summit in Kuwait, the grouping’s first gathering since the eruption of the dispute.
“The boycott has also succeeded in cutting off Qatar’s terrorist arms in regional hotspots. Doha has lost its partnership in the Arab alliance fighting [Iran-supported rebels] in Yemen.
“Qatar’s influence has suffered in Palestine after Egypt mediated reconciliation between [Palestinian] movements Fatah and Hamas.
“Moreover, victory has been declared over Qatar-financed terrorist organisations in Syria and Iraq. Qatar has also been paralysed in Libya where the national army has achieved a series of military successes.”
Abdul Qader added that a flurry of trips by Qatari officials around the world have failed to dent the boycott.
“Doha has failed to gain any regional or international sympathy,” he said.
Affected by Iran sanctions
Qatar is also expected to suffer as a result of a recent US decision to pull out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, an ally of Doha.
“The US withdrawal means imposing economic sanctions against Iran, on which Qatar mainly relies to cover its local market needs,” said Salah Al Hadi, a political expert.
Last November, Qatar signed with Iran and Turkey an accord to facilitate trade among them. Turkey has deployed troops to Qatar.
“Qatar continues to be arrogant although the crisis with its neighbours has cost it a lot in political and economic terms. It has spent billions of dollars in the West in order to improve its image and buy support, but for no good. Its regional and international influence has been weakened,” Al Hadi told Gulf News.
“The ball is in Qatar’s court,” he said. “The Qatari leadership knows exactly what it should do in order to achieve reconciliation. If not, the crisis will remain unresolved.”