Qatar spends millions to destabilize Bahrain

CAIRO – 8 August 2017: Kuwaiti columnist Fouad al-Hashem accused Qatar of supporting the calls of the Bahraini opposition bloc in the U.K. to demonstrate in Britain, coinciding with Bahrain’s Independence Day on August 14.

“Qatar focuses on Bahrain, the smallest in the Arab quartet, so it spends millions of dollars to destabilize Manama,” al-Hashem stated to Dot Gulf.

The Bahraini opposition bloc in the U.K. has announced on its official page on Twitter on Sunday for a program on Bahrain’s Independence Day on August 14, calling for independence from current Bahraini rule.

The program includes a seminar in Dar Alhekma on “British political legacy and Gulf crises” on the first day, corresponding to August 11, as well as a sit-in in front of Downing Street on August 12. Another sit-in is to be held on August 13 at a photo gallery in Marble Arch, and then they are to hold a press conference on August 14 .The program will finish on August 16 with a sit-in in front of the Saudi embassy.

The Doha-funded Bahrain Opposition Bloc in London (BOBL) falsely accuses Saudi Arabia of occupying Bahrain since 2011. BOBL claims that Saudi Arabia has backed violations against the Shi’ites in Manama since Bahraini opposition riots in 2011.

On July 17, Qatari-backed Bahraini Shi’ite protesters attacked Emirati Foreign Minister Anwar Qarqash’s convoy during his visit to London, within a series of attacks against Gulf leaders in European countries.

Qatar hosts Bahraini Shi’ite opposition leaders in U.K. research centers to defame Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. The Arab quartet is a target to the Qatari regime, the Arab sources said.