Boycott of Qatar is ‘sovereign decision’

Anti-terror quartet says boycott is in response to Doha’s irresponsible actions

The Arab Quartet has insisted that the measures they have taken against Qatar are “legitimate sovereign decisions”.

The four nations — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said the measures cannot be considered a “blockade” by any means, but rather “a boycott emanating from the harm caused by irresponsible Doha actions through its support, financing and harbouring of terrorist elements.”

Charge refuted

The statement was issued in the Swiss city on behalf of the quartet by the UAE Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Obaid Salem Al Za’abi, in response to a speech by Qatar’s foreign minister during a panel discussion on the Qatari crisis during the current session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday.

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani claimed that the Qatari people have been harmed by the “illegal siege” enforced by the four countries.

Al Za’abi charge, saying Qatari officials refuted the that senior had in fact been strutting around with a “business as usual” attitude and projecting the impression that the boycott had little effect on them.

“In our opinion, these contradictions adopted by Qatari policy decision-makers reflecting dualism of speech, explain that there are two tones of address in Qatar, one addressing the domestic public and the other refuting the international viewpoints aiming to unveil the real reasons behind the boycott,” he said.

Al Za’abi said the Qatari delegation’s effort to push forward the matter for the second time on the same day only showed that Qatar “did not have any intention to review and change its policies and positions in support of terrorism and extremism.”