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- Nasreen Hatoum
- BBC Gulf Affairs Correspondent
Image posted, fake images
Despite the reconciliation of the Gulf after the Al-Ula summit, the relationship between Manama and Doha is not at its best.
Along with the release by Qatari authorities of two sailors and a Bahraini bodybuilding champion, Sami Al-Haddad, tweets from the Bahraini Ministry of the Interior confirmed that one of its citizens had been quoted in the context of a video. in circulation in which he talked about the attempt by Qatari security to recruit him in exchange for a sum of money in exchange for information on the movements of the Bahraini security services in the Sitra. So what exactly happened?
The Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its appreciation to the Sultanate of Oman for the efforts made by the competent authorities of the Sultanate to coordinate the release of Bahrainis detained in Qatar and to facilitate their return to Bahrain. Cooperation among the GCC states, “in the hope that Asian sailors working on Bahrain fishing vessels will also be released, in consideration of their humanitarian situation.”
The Qatari authorities had released the two Bahrainis who were arrested by the Qatari Coast and Border Security Forces on 8 January while they were on a fishing trip. They are the Bahraini bodybuilding champion, Sami Ibrahim Al-Haddad, and Muhammad Yusef Al-Dossary.
The statement added that the release also included Bahraini sailor Habib Abbas, who was arrested on December 3 last year due to Bahraini ships crossing Qatari waters, which was denied by Manama. According to the statement by the Bahrain Ministry of the Interior, the ships that were in the possession of the three Bahrainis have not been released, and the number of Bahraini ships that are still being held in Qatar has reached fifty.
Al-Haddad and Al-Dossari were suspended just days after the Al-Ula summit, which coincided with a Gulf reconciliation that ended relations between Qatar, on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates and Egypt on the other hand, since mid-2017.
The King of Bahrain’s media adviser, Nabil Al-Hamar, commented on the matter in a tweet on his Twitter account, saying that this incident is part of “a systematic campaign launched by Qatar against the Bahraini sailors, and is a clear violation of the Gulf peace agreement concluded at the Al-Ula summit “, as he himself put it.
What is the validity of the recruitment of a Bahraini citizen in Doha?
The release of the three Bahrainis coincided with information released by Bahrain’s Interior Ministry on the summons of one of its citizens to hear his testimony after a video clip circulated in which Bahraini national Makki Ali Quaid said that Doha tried to recruit him in exchange for a fee in exchange for information on the movements of the Bahraini security services in the Sitra area.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry clarified in five serial tweets that: “In response to a video clip circulating on various social media accounts, in which citizen Makki Ali Kwaid, of Sitra residents, stated that the security forces from Qatar tried to recruit him after he was arrested at sea and taken by boat to Doha, provided he receives a monthly salary of $ 10,000 Qatari riyals, and his release and return to Bahrain in exchange for providing them with information on the movements of Bahraini security services in the Sitra area.
The Bahrain Ministry of the Interior account added on Twitter that: “Citizen Makki Ali Kwaid was summoned to hear his detailed testimony on the incident, which is a dangerous meddling in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and violates security and due obligations under the GCC system and good neighborly relations, in preparation for action. Legal necessary “.
What is the fate of the Gulf reconciliation?
The Qatari side did not comment on this, but Qatari political researcher Dr. Ali Al-Hail, in an interview with the BBC, was surprised by this issue, considering that these tweets are irresponsible and an attempt to create confusion and sabotage reconciliation, as he himself put it.
Al-Hail considered that Qatar is not the one that threatens the reconciliation of the Gulf, because it has arrested sailors who violated the territorial waters of Qatar, which he considered a normal procedure in any country when its territorial waters are violated. He added that “Bahrain has been the one that has been sabotaging the Gulf reconciliation when, together with the preparatory meeting for the Al-Ula summit, the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council sent a letter to the Security Council of the UN accusing Qatar of terrorism.
The Qatari political researcher said: “It is surprising from the Bahrain side, as it repeats the same cylinder that Qatar threatens international peace and security. After reconciliation, there are no longer any sticking points, and the thirteen no longer exist. conditions or the six principles “, surprising at the same time the call of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, Doha to send an official delegation to Manama to start bilateral talks between the two parties, something that Al-Hail commented. in an interview with the BBC, saying: “I don’t think Qataris will go to Manama or pay attention to such invitations because it is a rude invitation that goes out of style. Diplomacy “, adding:” Qatar does not listen to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, and what it cares about is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ”
Late last month, Manama sent a letter to both the president of the UN Security Council and the secretary general of the United Nations regarding allegations from Doha that its fighters had penetrated Qatari airspace.
And according to the official Bahrain news agency, the representative of Bahrain to the United Nations, Jamal Faris Al-Ruwaie, indicated that “the false accusations of the State of Qatar are, unfortunately, part of the continuous and growing distortion practiced by the State of Qatar with the aim of destabilizing security and stability, and thus exacerbating regional tensions. ” He considered that “it was the first that the State of Qatar overturned in its crisis to continue with its provocative and hostile behavior, its support for terrorism, its financing and its interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, which constitutes a threat to the international peace and security “.
In turn, an expert in political and strategic affairs and regional head of the British Center for Middle East Studies and Research, Amjad Taha, says in an interview with the BBC that the liberation of the citizens of his country is a success for diplomacy. Bahrain, in the hope that the Qatari authorities will release the 50 ships that are still holding them and stop what he described. The violation of the freedoms and rights of Bahraini fishermen, especially in the field of human rights, citing poor conditions within the prisons in which they were detained and that there is an investigation in this regard.
On the subject of what is circulating about the recruitment of a Bahraini citizen by Qatar, the Bahraini expert said that it is not the first time that the Qatari authorities have tried to kidnap fishermen and recruit them, considering it a violation of the summit. of Al-Ula and does not serve the reconciliation of the Gulf.
On ways to improve the relationship between the two countries, Taha told the BBC that the conditions to improve the relationship between Manama and Doha must be through confidence-building, and asked the Qatari side to accept the invitation of the Bahraini Foreign Minister to visit Manama to discuss pending issues. Taha listed the thorny files between the two countries, saying: “The Qatari regime violates the pacts and does not abide by them, as it recruits its media and the media funded by it in Istanbul and London to insult Bahrain. Bahrain in line with the recent Al-Ula summit.
Who is Sami Al-Haddad, whose arrest almost destabilized the Gulf reconciliation?
Sami Al-Haddad, 49, whose arrest nearly destabilized the Gulf reconciliation, is a Bahraini bodybuilder who has won multiple championships and world titles, and is also an ambassador for the Bahrain Olympic Committee.
Among his most notable achievements: winning first place and gold medal at IFBB Mozolani Pro Classic in 2016 and winning first place and gold medal at IFBB Pro Spain in 2018 and many international, continental and Arab achievements, and he is also the first athlete in Bahrain to receive from the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, a passport with a professional career in the sports field.
Following his arrest by the Qatari authorities, the Bahrain Olympic Committee called on the international sports community and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take a firm and supportive stance for his release. Bahrain’s request stated:
Based on the role of the International Olympic Committee in the protection of athletes and the defense of their rights and just causes, and in the implementation of the Olympic Charter that calls for the separation of sport from politics, we call on the international sports community and to the International Olympic Committee to take a position of support for the release of athlete Sami Ibrahim Al-Haddad to return to his family …
