Ahmad al-Farraj

By : Dr Ahmad al-Farraj

:: As expected, the rulers of Qatar decided to carry on with their unreasonable contention, a behavior that best matches the Qatari contradictory policies for more than two decades now. Asking to extend the deadline was only a way to gain more time.

In a provocative move, Qatar’s rulers underestimated the Kuwaiti emir’s mediation efforts. A week ago, some tweeps known to be affiliated to the Qatari regime had shamelessly offended the Kuwaiti emir describing him as a carrier pigeon, and now the Qatari foreign minister intended to declare his country’s rejection to the demands of the boycotting countries, before the arrival of the Kuwaiti envoy!

What is going on is the continuation of the lamentation policy that was undertaken after the decision to boycott Qatar. Instead of dealing with the matter through altering its hostile policies and its support for terrorism, Qatar is still trying to play its anticipatable media game, relying on cheap media and rewarded journalists, especially in Western capitals.

It seems that the rulers of Qatar have enjoyed imitating the role of big powerful countries; powerful countries do not stir unrest and do not support terrorist organizations and leaders. They do not become the voice of those who lost the way and were ousted from their countries. Powerful leaders deal with others with wisdom, firmness and objectivity, not in provocative and hostile ways and they do not provoke neighboring peoples against their rulers. Qatar has been playing this fake role for a long time now, due to the bigger objectives of its neighbors, but it will not be able to carry on with it as it has understood that the dream of the Kingdom and its allies was a weakness, and that their silence was wrong. The Qatari rulers did not know that the Kingdom’s keenness on the Gulf unity and the interests of the Gulf countries, including Qatar, was the main reason for the postponement of the decision to impose long-awaited sanctions that were necessary, especially that Qatar’s rulers exceeded all limits.

The rulers of Qatar believe that they can deceive the world and mislead everyone by promoting that Al Jazeera is a platform for the freedom of expression. However, they are disregarding the most important of basic concepts: freedom of expression has nothing to do with spreading sedition, promoting terrorist leaders’ speeches, and supporting terrorist ideas. Even in Western countries, such acts are considered as inciting hatred and are a violation of national security. Nevertheless, who would waste time explaining this to the rulers of Qatar, who are still insisting on escalation? Doha is the only party will get hurt, as time is in favor of the boycotting countries and not in the favor of Qatar.

:: Dr Ahmad al-Farraj is a Saudi writer with al-Jazirah daily. He holds a Masters degree in literature from the University of Indiana and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Michigan. He was the Dean of the Arabic Language Institute in King Saud University and a member of the university’s council. He tweets under @amhfarraj

:: Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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