Measure taken against Qatar is ‘boycott’ not ‘blockade’

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt have affirmed that the measures they have taken against Qatar are legitimate decisions that are by no means a "blockade."

The countries affirmed that the collective "boycotting" of Doha stems from the damage caused by its insensible policies manifested in its  financing and harboring of terrorism and terrorist groups.

The Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations in Geneva, Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, clarified the states position in a statement, following the speech by the Qatari delegate, during the panel discussion of the unilateral coercive measures and human rights at the 36th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Al Zaabi said that the four countries welcome the convening of the panel and restate their condemnation of the imposition of coercive measures because they are contrary to international laws and represent violations of human rights.

He added that in response to the Qatari delegate statement and what Jean Ziegler, the member of the Advisory Committee pointed out, the anti-terror states reaffirm that the measures taken are legitimate, and caused by Qatar's irresponsible actions of supporting, funding and harboring terrorism and terrorists, prompting the countries to make their decision to boycott.

Al-Zaabi pointed out that if the Qatari people have been harmed as per the representative of Qatar’s statement, how he would explain the declarations made by senior officials in Doha, confirming that they are not affected after severing diplomatic relations and that the state is functioning normally.

He added that such contradictions highlight the dual speech, one for internal consumption and a second for the international public to mask the real causes of the crisis which is supporting terrorism and financing terrorist organizations.

Al-Zaabi expressed his regret that the Qatari delegation is putting forward this matter for the second time during the day, which reflects Qatar’s lack of sincere intentions to review its policies and its support of terrorism and extremism.

source: Alarabiya