Dubai: A second member of the Al Thani ruling family in Qatar has expressed full support for an extended meeting of senior Qataris to help resolve the crisis that hit the country more than 100 days ago after it was accused of links to extremism and terrorism.
Shaikh Sultan Bin Suhaim Al Thani, in a short televised address from Paris, said he was looking forward to the meeting as a solution to the bitter mistrust and resentment that has emerged between Qatar and Arab countries.
“You are all aware that the situation today is difficult, and our people in the Arabian Gulf and our brothers in the Arab world have never ostracised us to this extent, closing every door in our face because of grave mistakes and malpractices against them,” he said in the statement that he read out.
Mistakes
“These mistakes have been exploited by enemies who speak in our name and live on our lands because our government has allowed intruders who resent us to infiltrate into Qatar and spread their poison which has brought us to the brink of disaster.
“Our role today is to cleanse our land from them, and to continue the development process to honour Qatar’s name boost its cultural role and human values. We need to be united in order to protect our beloved country from terrorism and terrorists and to distance ourselves from its organizations. My greatest fear is that one day whenever a Qataris citizen is mentioned he is intrinsically associated with terrorism. I fear the day when no country will want us and when everybody will doubt our intention, a situation that will compound the lack of ties between us and our neighours and extended families.
Colonisers
“I now live in Paris. Since the crisis broke out, I could not tolerate living in a land to which foreigners started to flock and scour with an air of the colonisers. They are interfering in our domestic affairs on the pretext of protecting us from our own people in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf countries whom we consider ourselves as an extension of them. We are the grandsons and loyal men of our grandfather Shaikh Jassim and the ones who established this great entity,” he said.
“It saddens me that Doha has become a haven for sabotagers and the misguided,” he said.
Such people would be the first to leave Qatar if they found better opportunities elsewhere, he explained, adding that “they are exploiting us and have no genuine interest in our affairs”
“They have no roots, family or people among us and they have an inherent hatred of the Gulf people,” he said.
He concluded by saying he was ashamed that his country was being viewed as simply a medium for others to execute their goals.
“In this context, I support every call to the meeting. I hope that all members of the ruling family, dignitaries and notables will interact with it so that we will be united and vigilant to protect Qatar from treachery and betrayal by the enemies.
I have full confidence in the wisdom of King Salman and the other leaders and their support to us. May God make us messengers of peace who will restore us back on the right path, correct every mistake and eleviate us from the nightmare our people are living in,” he said.
His call followed that of Shaikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al Thani who on Sunday called for the meeting, saying that it was necessary to help resolve the crisis.
The venue and date of the meeting will be announced later, he said as he posted his email address for contacts, pledging discretion.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar over its support for terrorist groups.
Doha has successfully torpedoed ongoing efforts to start a dialogue because of its refusal to accept 13 demands issued by the GCC and other Arab states.
