Like everyone interested in the affairs of the Gulf and the Arab countries in general, and since the start of the Arab Spring from Tunisia on January 4, 2011, I have observed the role of the Gulf media in that revolution.
Some believe that the well-known Gulf media organisation Al Jazeera played a positive role in conveying facts about the popular revolution in Tunisia and other Arab countries that were swept by the winds of the Arab Spring. Others argue that it had a negative impact; and both sides have their reasons to support their opinions.
I am not trying to play the role of an analyst on the subject of Arab media’s support for the Arab Spring and who were for or against it. However, without any doubt, Al Jazeera was extremely influential.
What prompted me to say what I have said above is the address by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz some days ago to Egyptians. He called on intellectuals and the media in Egypt to work towards achieving convergence, which aims to end all disputes, whatever their reasons. Wisdom, as the king said, is the “goal of the believer”. Do those engaged in private and official Egyptian media realise the importance of what was said by His Majesty? I hope so.
I have no better words than to say, “Thank you, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”, and “Thank you, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait”, for what you did to successfully bridge the gap in the GCC and brighten the prospect of a bright future based on good intentions and knowledge of the dangers that surround us all.
Thanks are also due to H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, for his excellent handling of the crisis that arose between the three GCC member states and Qatar, which led to the withdrawal of the ambassadors of the three countries from Doha in March 2014; and for working with his counterparts, the Saudi king and the Emir of Kuwait, for the return of the ambassadors and normalcy in the bloc.
In January 2002, during the GCC summit in Muscat, King Abdullah made a very important statement: “We do not go beyond the truth if we all recognise, and I don’t exclude anyone, that we have done wrong against our greater nation when we allow our Arab and Islamic relations to be based on suspicion and mistrust instead of honesty and directness; as we seek help from the West and have forgotten those who are near.”
Today we don’t go beyond the truth when we say we were wrong in our dealings with each other in the GCC. Today we have turned around to take the correct path due to the efforts of the three leaders, King Abdullah, Sheikh Sabah of Kuwait, and Sheikh Tamim. Now we must build a bright future for the children of this sensitive part of the world.
I want to remind every decision-maker and every influential person that when Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE were united and in agreement at the beginning of the Arab Spring in late 2010, we realised many achievements at the political level unprecedented in the history of Gulf diplomacy. Some might say they were negative achievements while others may disagree, and I do have my opinion on this but this is not the time to discuss it. However, when we disagreed, we lost Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya while we reclined happily in our sofas.
The appeal of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, may God protect him, to our brothers in Egypt, says, “I appeal to the Egyptian people and its leadership to strive with us for the success of Arab solidarity as we have always known you to be supportive of collective efforts.”
Here I say that Egypt’s effective role and esteem are unquestionable since it plays a key role in directing Arab solidarity as advocated by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah. Therefore, it has to fulfil its duties by first releasing all Al Jazeera journalists detained for no fault of their own, and lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip forever to allow aid from people in the Gulf to reach their brothers trapped in their own homeland. After all, it is not right for Arab Egypt and Israel to treat the people of Gaza the same way.
Finally, we request Egypt to support the people of Jerusalem, who are exposed to atrocious terrorist aggressions, led by the settlements and leaders of the Zionist state, and to work hard towards protecting Jerusalem from Israeli violations.
We, the countries of the GCC, have all the means of strength and coercion if we have the political will; all we should to do is share our duties in order to serve our interests and the interests of our greater Arab and Islamic nation.
It is not right that we antagonise all Islamic movements, and I put a special emphasis on the word “all”. We should not have animosity for nationalists or liberals, because we need them all. What we ought to do is improve our dealings with these groups instead of clashing with them. By cooperating with all forces, we will be able to defeat terrorism and uproot it.
When the Gulf states’ determination was in accord in 1973 and they used the oil embargo to achieve their goal of freeing occupied Arab territories, they were victorious. If it wasn’t for some Arab leaders they would have liberated Palestine that year, but President Anwar Sadat let them down; may God reward him with what he deserves.
My final word for us, Gulf people, is to collectively agree on achieving our interests without spiteful or envious rivalry. Let’s come together for truth. In the end, the security and safety of our countries and the sovereignty of our homelands will not be achieved without our unity, love for each other and cooperative work. We should not allow any defamer and slanderer to have a privileged position in the midst of our rulers.
