Qatar long sought to destabilize Bahrain, Interior Ministry affirms

CAIRO – 17 June 2017: The Bahraini Ministry of Interior affirmed in a Friday statement its stand against Qatar for interfering in its interior affairs and inciting chaos in the kingdom. “The Qatari regime has never ceased to stop its aggressions against its neighboring countries, especially through its media arm Al-Jazeera, the statement further added.


Four Arab capitals, namely Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama, on June 5, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar. Mauritania, Libya’s eastern-based government and Mauritius joined the stand against Qatar.

Ties with the tiny emirate were cut over “allegations” that Qatar supports terrorism, destabilizes the region and has close ties with Iran.

According to Bahraini state media “ Bahrain in particular had its own reasons behind cutting relations with Doha.”

The Kuwaiti Al-Watan newspaper

reported

today that Bahraini Ambassador to Moscow, Ahmed Al-Saati, told Sputnik that the Bahraini government has evidence regarding the Qatari support to terrorism, in addition to several direct contacts with terrorist organizations leaders.

Al-Saati further added that Qatar’s cooperation with Iran is deemed “provocative.” He pointed out that “Doha’s direct cooperation with Tehran negatively impacts the national security of the Arab Region.”

The Bahraini state television broadcast a phone call between Hamad bin Ali Al Attiyah, a Qatari politician who served as the State Minister for Defense, and terrorist Hassan Ali Sultan, member of the Lebanese Hezbollah, conspiring against the Bahraini government.

During the phone call, Attiyah and Sultan agreed on inciting chaos in Bahrain, while destabilizing the situation in the kingdom.

Al-Watan also revealed that Hamad bin Jassim demanded Al-Wefaq Society during his contacts to coordinate with the allied association to ensure the continuation of protests in Gulf countries so that Qatar would pressure the government of Bahrain in order to open all the roads to the public, and stop the civil guards.

The newspaper also cited the “Qatari Initiative”, which included forming an interim government in Bahrain and calling for withdrawing the Peninsula Shield troops from Manama.

The initiative intended to ask the Bahraini government to guarantee civilians’ right to demonstrate, shut down the broadcast of Bahraini state television, release all detainees in juvenile prisons, and to form a transitional government within two months.

Bahrain, immediately, rejected the initiative, considering the move as interfering in kingdom’s internal affairs.

According to Al Watan, “ Qatar’s former prime minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani in March 2011 held extensive contacts with Al Wefaq’s Secretary General Ali Salman and shared with him several proposals that were later turned into the Qatari initiative.”