Dubai: Halfway through the time frame given by four neighbouring countries to Qatar to comply with a list of 13-point demands, Doha has been asked to make a wise and well thought-out choice.
“Now that the hour of truth is coming nearer, we invite the brother to choose his surroundings, to choose honesty and transparency in dealing [with the situation], and to realise that the hustle and bustle of the media and ideological heroics are fleeting illusions,” Dr. Anwar Mohammad Gargash, UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, has said.
“We have long suffered from the brother’s conspiracy to undermine our stability and we have witnessed his support for a partisan agenda seeking to create chaos in our Arab world. Now, we tell him: Enough! Get back to your senses or go on your way, but without us,” he posted on his Twitter account on Wednesday.
Gargash in his tweets has been referring to Qatar as the brother.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt on June 5 severed their diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting and funding terror groups attempting to undermine their security and stability.
The four countries closed their airspace, seaports and airports to Qatar-registered ships and planes and last week gave Doha, through Kuwait, a list of demands to be met within 10 days in order to lift the diplomatic and trade boycotts.
Qatar has not given an official public response, but several media with strong links to Doha or motivated by ideological stances or political interests, have been criticising the list.
Gargash warned Qatar against being misled by such media campaigns bent on protecting self-serving interests.
“Partisan articles and agendas have been activated and they will harm the brother by removing it from its natural surroundings. Their real concern is the source of the funds they receive and their projects. They are defending [Qatar] and attacking [the other countries] because they are aware that it is their last battle,” he posted to his 400,000 followers.
“Qataris have kept their distance from the battle as they are aware of the consequences of being isolated from their surroundings. They are well above tilting at windmills with their brothers and well beyond the loud cries of ideologues and shouters for hire.”
Gargash deplored the misevaluation and mismanagement within the decision-making circles in Qatar.
“Does it make sense to win the battle of the hustle and screams of the media and lose your family, your components and your real guarantee?”
“What is strange, and maybe not, is the alignment by the Muslim Brotherhood, as expected, against their people and their homelands. They are mere puppets and voices used by a destructive party project. The shameful position of the Brotherhood is expected.”
In another tweet, Gargash said that observers of the Qatar crisis could well see how the loyalty and allegiance of the Muslim Brotherhood and their road companions were not to their countries, but rather to parties, to changing political regimes, to the wealth of the brother and to delusions.