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Qatar should abide by GCC principles

The Saudi-led bloc has enough evidence to show that Qatar transgressed and has been a traitor

Sovereignty is defined as the authority of a nation to govern itself without any outside interference. In our interconnected world, however, different alliances and partnerships, especially the regional ones, do influence policies adopted by a sovereign state.

But how can a country remain a part of a bloc or be seen as a partner if it backbites? The Saudi-led bloc has enough evidence to show that Qatar transgressed and has been a traitor.

Doha has always been scheming against its partners, and has caused a lot of harm to the relations. The partner nations cannot tolerate such transgression any further and have rightly put in place a plan to curb such activities. What patience could not achieve, isolation might. Therefore, the bloc first boycotted Qatar and later imposed an economic embargo just as the US had imposed economic sanctions on Cuba for 50 years, and on Iraq for 13 years, when the latter had violated the Kuwaiti sovereignty by invading the GCC state in a flagrant aggression that was condemned by the entire world.

It was the right thing to do, and the only way to protect our countries from subversive acts. This is also a reason why the Qataris and expatriates living in Qatar were denied access to the countries that boycotted Doha. It was the only way to foil any attempts to destabilise the security in our countries.

Transparency is the bedrock of any alliance and valued in any relation. Boycotts are only imposed on intransigent countries due to their unclear and deceitful policies, which lack transparency in dealing with allies in any organisation or bloc whatsoever. But Qatar has never valued such sentiments.

Oman, on the other hand, has exhibited how transparency can bolster relations. The country did not enter into the GCC union, when a proposal was mooted by Saudi's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2011 for the GCC to move from a "phase of cooperation to the phase of union".

Oman was clear in its choice and that attitude did not affect its relations with the region. On the contrary, the transparency gave credibility to its dealings. It understood that a country couldn't join a group or a bloc of countries, and work clandestinely against it.

The Saudi-led alliance considers Qatar as its brotherly nation, but it won't allow it to mess up the security in the GCC. The first step to boycott the nation was appropriate, and it would be good if that continues until Doha listens to the voice of reason and logic, and responds to the demands, which do not violate internal sovereignty, or the sovereignty and security of the surroundings.

This requires a continuous follow up and periodic reports to ensure Doha is committed and implements the six broad principles suggested by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

Embargo started with the GCC withdrawing as much as $35 billion from the banking sector.

Such measures are hurting Qatar as it is cozying up with its new greedy partners, who are seeking investment opportunities by selling their products at high prices.

No matter how long the stalemate will take, we will be waiting for Doha to return to the GCC fold. We want it to confess and learn to apologise.

- malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com