Qatar Denounces Statement Made By Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain And UAE

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The State of Qatar denounced on Friday a joint statement made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on June 8, which according to an official source at Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs involved many false allegations directed at the State of Qatar made for political gains and to tarnish the public opinion’s image of the State of Qatar.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, “it considers the statement made by the aforementioned countries void and strongly condemns all attempts to tarnish the country’s image by linking it in any way or form with terrorism.”

Nevertheless, also on Friday US President Donald Trump reiterated accusations that Qatar is funding terrorism. Speaking at a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the White House on Friday, Trump said Qatar has historically funded terrorism “at a very high level.”

For his part, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, called on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar.

In a statement from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The latest statement confirms the insistence of the aforementioned countries in continuing their policy of making false accusations and promoting lies against the State of Qatar without taking the facts, legal considerations, brotherly ties, or the joint destiny of the region into account. This comes at a time when the region is facing many challenges that all will pay a price for if they pursue a method of hostility and merging of fantasy with reality in order to create a sense of confusion and to avoid relying on common sense in resolving differences.”

According to Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the international lists of designated terrorist groups are prepared by the UN Security Council in accordance to clear parameters that rely on Security Council resolutions related to counter-terrorism.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said these lists are updated by a designated committee that includes specialists from UN-member countries, all of which were not consulted in preparing in the so called terrorist list mentioned in the statement and linked to the State of Qatar.

“As if the four countries have proclaimed themselves a substitute for international legitimacy, and held Qatar to a field court,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

According to Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the list mentioned in the statement included the names of Qatari charities that are widely-respected internationally and an illustrious record in the humanitarian field. They enjoy a consultative status at the UN based on a recommendation made by Non-Governmental Organizations Committee of the UN Economic and Social Council, such as Qatar Charity.”

Additionally, the Ministry noted that the list also included the names of individuals and entities from other countries that have no ties to the State of Qatar.

“The list also included the names of journalist whose work is to write and express their opinions, which reveals that the goal of that list was to terrorize and censor free speech adopted by international agreements,” the Ministry said.

The Ministry continued: “The list did include names that were listed by the Security Council as terrorists or members of terrorist organizations. The Security Council’s list include detailed information and files on all individuals mentioned on its list. Referring to those files, there was no connection between those names on the Security Council’s list and the State of Qatar. Needless to say, they do not reside in Qatar either which falsifies all the claims in the statement of the aforementioned countries.”

The Ministry warned of the results of adopting a policy based on inciting emotions and creating an environment ripe for conflicts and enmity between the peoples of the region by making false accusations without proof to serve political goals clear to everyone.

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