‘Onus on Qatar for solution’

‘Reconcile, come back to GCC’

“THE action that has been taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt against the State of Qatar, cannot be seen as due to marginal issues, or difference in points of view,” columnist Saud Al-Samaka wrote for Al-Seyassah daily Thursday.

“This is not due to a border dispute between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States and Qatar because we know these countries and Qatar are members of a ‘cooperation’ organization and are looking forward to founding a union among them.

“Moreover, the action in question has not been taken by new States, rather the disputes are dated back to the depths of the history.

“It is needless to say the withdrawal of ambassadors, closing their borders and cutting diplomatic relations amounts to a declaration of war among these concerned countries and this is how the politicians and military experts view the situation.

“The action was taken against Qatar after the failure of all political and diplomatic attempts to solve the problem and the existing differences among the concerned parties.

“In other words, the action against Qatar was motivated by the keenness of some of the GCC States to shoulder their responsibility towards sovereignty and security of the peoples.

“However, anyone who is aware of the root of the crisis which led to a backlash against Qatar will inevitably observe that many parties were trying in vain to contain the said crisis particularly since we know that the Qatari party had repeatedly promised to turn over the page of the crisis and cross the psychological barrier and the security grounds, but unfortunately the undertaking never took off the ground of reality.

“In this context, we cite the repeated use of the good offices and mediations by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad (we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him) to contain the crisis.

“HH the Amir also used his full political and diplomatic experience to handle the crisis, but the crisis continued to show its ugly face from time to time and this can easily be attributed to the fact that Qatar has neither remained committed to its undertakings nor abided by its commitments and this finally opened the door for the current situation which now imposes itself on the region.

“The action that has been taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt against the State of Qatar looks irrevocable unless these countries obtaining a written and ratified undertaking by Doha that it will turn its back on all that was the cause for the current crisis because we all know this constitutes a threat to the security and sovereignty of the countries which have broken ties with Qatar and all GCC States.

“In the meantime, we suggest the State of Qatar must sign the undertaking in the presence of the representatives of the GCC Secretariat-General, the Arab League and representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and in the presence of the UN Secretary-General and copies of this undertaking distributed among all organizations.

“We believe the above shall be realistic and a frank solution to handle the crisis in question. This shall represent the real turning point if the State of Qatar wants to embrace the GCC cradle and this indeed is of a strategic dimension if serious efforts are exerted.”

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Al-Samaka

“As a matter of fact, the Leader of Humanity, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, is accustomed and known for timely intervention to solve big crises among various countries,” columnist Abdulmohsen Al-Husseini wrote for Al-Shahed daily Thursday.

“Certainly Bu Nasser will not hesitate to interfere to settle the differences which currently governs the relations among some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member States.

“In other words, it is high time for Bu Nasser to kick off his activities and rapid moves to prevent further deterioration of the differences between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Bahrain on one hand and the sisterly country the State of Qatar on the other hand.

“As a matter of fact nobody wants to see the isolation of Qatar under the current circumstances because we at the moment are in an imperative need for solidarity and mutual cooperation among the GCC States and this means we should give no room for those who strive to deepen the differences among these States.

“HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad actually enjoys a high position with the Arabian Gulf countries and peoples in this part of the world currently look forward to see Sheikh Sabah using his good offices to end the differences among sisterly nations.

“It is needless to say the State of Qatar like other GCC States is a sisterly country that is of special importance in terms of building the strong GCC fort. The Qataris have always keen to maintain close relations with their brothers in other GCC States.

“However, there are some aspects in the Qatari politics which cause some dissatisfaction for other member States and this means the Qatari leadership must move to handle the relevant aspects, particularly since we know the latter have deepened the differences between the State of Qatar and some GCC States.

“But I think there will be no difficulty in handling the differences in the framework of mutual understanding and fraternal agreements among the sisterly GCC countries to promote the spirit of fraternity which prevail among these countries.

“For his part, Bu Nasser, HH the Amir is the ‘physician’ qualified to deal with the diseases that cause the problems among the relevant GCC countries and as a matter of fact the Qatari leadership must cooperate with Bu Nasser in view of his keenness to bring about solidarity among the Arabian Gulf countries.

“In the meantime, the State of Qatar must keep in mind and that its interests are linked to that of the GCC member States, particularly in light of the current economic, social and ‘cooperation’ levels with each other.

“Oh! Bu Nasser, it is high time for you to bring to an end these fraternal differences among some of the GCC member States, particularly since you are known to love the peoples of the Gulf region because if the differences deepen they will hurt all GCC countries.”

“Chairman of the Higher Advisory Committee on Completing Implementation of Islamic Sharia affiliated to the Amiri Diwan Sheikh Professor Mohammad Al-Tabtabaie last week declared that the committee has reviewed the relevant Kuwaiti laws,” Bader Khalid Al-Bahar wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“He explained that the recommended amendments have been prepared to make the laws appropriate with the provisions of Islamic Sharia. The work was done within seven months and the committee had adopted a new approach for handling the assignment.

“Prof Al-Tabtabaie revealed that the committee has laid down a plan to prepare the atmosphere through 30 projects that touch different facets of cultural, social, educational, religious and media lives in the Kuwaiti society. It moves to another level of assisting institutions to achieve the desirable objectives from the projects presented.

“At this juncture, we should think deeply about reevaluation of this stage. Here is a new committee that started from zero and completed the assignment within seven months, while its predecessor had spent almost quarter of a century using a different approach. The current committee might have not spent more than five percent of the annual budget compared to its predecessor.

“In my personal opinion, the achievement was possible because it relied on the idea of complementing the Constitution rather than opposing or restructuring it. The committee only reviewed the Constitution, and recommended amendments to some aspects in a way that will make it appropriate for the provisions of Islamic Sharia.”

“The region is undergoing complex circumstances and major conflicts, hence, the need for wisdom of GCC leaders to calm down the situation. We cannot ignore the fact that our Gulf region and destiny are one so we have to realize the magnitude of dangers surrounding the region and the world,” Kuwaiti columnist and journalist Salem Al-Wawan wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“Perhaps, the warnings made by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah during his meeting with affiliates of military institutions in the last two days included clear warnings on the seriousness of the regional situation. HH the Amir knows well the dire consequences of the continuation of tension in the region.

“With the escalation of undesirable tone of relations between Qatar and some GCC and Arab countries, we have to use our minds and work towards calming the situation because there is still a chance to achieve Gulf and Arab reconciliation. Undoubtedly, the ongoing disputes will not be in the interest of GCC people. This necessitates preventing utilization of these disputes in favor of some parties that do not want stability in the Gulf region.

“Here comes the role of the wise leader of the Arab region — the humanitarian leader who greatly contributed to Kuwait’s winning a seat in the United Nations Security Council — in terms of consolidating viewpoints and settling disputes.

“Finally, each one should realize that unity is strength, while division is weakness. We do not want more vagrancy in the Middle East. Again, our Gulf region is one.”

“The terrorist is the one who practices terrorism, kills innocent people and/or instigates others to commit terrorist acts in the name of defending religion,” columnist Dr Khalid Ayed Al-Jenfawi wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“There are two important questions concerning the mentality of a terrorist. What are the initial symptoms that lure the extremist to embrace terrorism? How is the ecosystem which incubates terrorism found?

“The exaggerative tendency towards idealism and considering the entire society a polluted environment and considering oneself better than the others makes that person likely terrorist.

“Among the aspects that encourage someone to become a terrorist is suffering from a disease that affects his character including impiety and the dramatic change in the personality from carelessness to indulging in all types irresponsive activities tinted with exaggerated religious tendencies.

“The suitable environment for terrorism can be found in both the best social communities and also the worst because of the strict manner in which we raise our children, family neglect and social marginalization in addition to the negative influence of bad friends.

“A family where the father is violent and strict is a good place to birth terrorism. The children in such families are prevented from practicing their life freely and being tolerant. Then comes the bad companion and it is he who encourages the son to flee from his home and join the terrorist group. This is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

“If the terrorist grew in a tribal and sectarian environment and carries with him the prejudice and hatred, he will eventually become a member of a terroristic group.

“Terrorists do not fall from heaven. Some of the specialists who confront terrorism neglect to look at the environment where a terrorist has lived or brought up. Sometimes terrorists are not arrogant but they may be fruits grown on demonic plants.”

“It seems the region is on the verge of another fiasco — escalation and tension — as if the current destruction and massacres will not suffice,” columnist Hassan Al-Mousawi wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“Instead of extinguishing the flames of fire before it reaches us, there are those who add fuel to fire and fan the flames and the main reason is our stubbornness. In simple words we are blind to reality.

“Instead of opening up a comprehensive dialogue with all parties to the conflict which has affected millions of lives, we praise the policy adopted by the US president although we know he attempts to sow seeds of divisions and differences among the people of the region which continues to be the hotbed of tension.

“We fail to realize that the wealth of the nation is being systematically drained through arms deals and the subsequent destruction of human beings.

“No one can cancel the other, and we must be aware that coexistence through dialogue and understanding is the only way to security, peace and prosperity.

“It is so futile to be dragged behind the battles of others who are thousands of miles away from us and only concerned about our money.

“We have to face the reality of terrorism rather than always blame others. The discourse of hatred and ‘takfir’ is seen in the curricula of schools in our countries and we see it promoted by the satellite channels and pulpits of our mosques.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb