(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Mohammed Osman / The Peninsula
One of the region's biggest diplomatic crises in decades which was sparked by the hacking of Qatar News Agency (QNA) around midnight of May 24 is more than two months old now.
Hackers posted on the official news agency a fake story quoting top Qatari officials, give an excuse to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt to sever relations with Qatar on June 5. The Saudi-led bloc tried to mobilise the region against Qatar pushing small and marginal states like Mauritania, Comoros and Maldives to join them in their isolation of Qatar by forcing them into submission. The baseless campaign against Qatar and unjustified harsh decisions were seen by GCC citizen and Arabs from the beginning as not falling in line with the laws, customs or brotherhood and neighbourliness ties, specially because the measure was taken during the Holy month of Ramadan.
The siege countries announced within less than two weeks of the hacking, the embargo on Qatar. Flights were barred from their airspace, borders were sealed and threats were made but Qatar struck a reconciliatory tone by refusing all kinds of escalation and kept on calling for dialogue.
Al Jazeera's offices and all media outlets were blocked including internet access to Qatari news websites. The siege countries also gave Qatari citizens 14 days to leave their territory and banned their own citizens from travelling to or residing in Qatar.
All of these rapid and aggressive actions were based on miscalculation that Qatar will raise white flag immediately a fact that was understood by Qatar's leadership. As stated by the Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani that the siege countries were 'demanding that we have to surrender our sovereignty, something it would never happen.
Doha from the first day stressed that its website was hacked and accused the UAE of being behind the hacking of its news agency, claims that FBI investigations confirmed later on and were backed by the Washington Post report.
Despite escalation measures, Qatar kept calling for dialogue and begun to seek a legal means to settle the land, air and sea blockade imposed in clear violation to the international laws and regulations, international treaties and despite the separation of over 12,000 families, and heavily affected the interests of Qatari and GCC citizens.
Qatari nationals and expatriate based in Qatar were denied access to Makkah and Madinah to perform Umrah instead forced to leave the hotels and interrupt their Umrah and now are not allowed to perform the Haj, that received many criticisms from renowned international human rights organisations, in support of Qatar. Siege countries also unleashed propaganda battle led by Al Arabiya and Sky news Abu Dhabi and state-affiliated media outlets to insult Qatar, its leadership and people in a desperate attempt to back the allegations about Qatar's 'support for terrorism. To the extent that some Saudi journalists said that they had come under government pressure to criticise Qatar. One Saudi editor described how officials have been using a mobile phone messaging group to instruct journalists on how to shape coverage and what stories to focus on. 'These are orders, not suggestions, Financial Times quoted him as saying recently.
Under pressure of international community the siege countries presented 13 points list of allegations presented to Qatar on 22 June. 'The list of 13 allegations was made to be rejected, said the Qatari Foreign Minister, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, adding that Qatar was ready to discuss any grievances.
In his first speech since the crisis merged, Emir H H Shiekh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani repeated call for dialogue stressing that 'any solution to the crisis must be based on two principles: first, the solution should be within the framework of respect for the sovereignty and will of each State. Secondly, it should not be in a form of orders by one party against another, but rather as mutual undertakings and joint commitments binding to all.
These demands were not only rejected by Qatar but seemed to be ridiculous for many in the world, including Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who questioned the list of demands saying, 'very difficult for Qatar to meet.
Tillerson called for more realistic and usable demands. On 11 July, Tillerson signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar on terrorism financing, pushing towards further consolidation of the US Qatar ties and cooperation. German Foreign Minister Gabriel Sigmar called for the lifting of the blockade on Qatar describing the 13 point list as provocative calling for 'serious dialogue to resolve the crisis as stability in the region was also a matter of international interest.
Turkey's position on this crisis has been patently clear from the beginning. It has rejected the measures against Qatar as illegal, against Islam and brotherly relations of the GCC states. The Emir thanked Turkey for 'putting into force quickly a cooperation agreement signed between us and meeting our basic needs.
Similar positions were made by UK, France and Russia and the rest of the European countries. Under pressure from the international community the Saudi-led bloc retreated from the 13 point list of demands and said on July 18, they were no longer insisting Qatar comply with the demands and instead wanted it to commit to six broad 'principles.
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