Qatar will not seek retaliation for the measures taken by the siege countries since the Gulf crisis broke out on June 5 last year, Foreign Ministry spokesperson HE Lulwah al-Khater has said.
She made the observation while addressing a press conference in Doha, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
HE al-Khater said Qatar did not direct the citizens of siege countries to leave its territory, noting that those who were employed before the crisis remained in their jobs even now. She also noted that health services provided by the State to citizens of the siege countries residing in Qatar during the September-November period surpassed the 300,000 mark.
The official stressed that this figure reflected how Qatar refused to discriminate against any nationals of the siege countries, which cannot be said about the treatment meted out by the blockading nations to citizens of Qatar and even some of their own nationals.
HE al-Khater said the report submitted by the United Nations (UN) technical mission from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented the hate speech broadcast and published by the siege countries' media. The report discussed some of the works produced by the blockading nations, which included acts of incitement against Qatar, she observed.
On the measures Qatar would take to seek redress, HE al-Khater said the committee established to determine the damages resulting from the violations would provide the legal basis for international action.
HE al-Khater highlighted the major role played by the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, since the beginning of the crisis, saying that “Qatar's appreciation was reflected on many occasions, including the participation of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the GCC summit that took place in Kuwait”, QNA reported. She reiterated Qatar's position, which supports a solution based on mediation.
Further, the spokesperson said all lines of communications with the siege countries were still cut, but expressed hoped that a dialogue could take place in the future in order to resolve the situation.
She stressed that countries around the world support Qatar, as is evident from the improvement in ties between those nations and Qatar. She expressed hope that the ties continued to strengthen.
HE al-Khater said as the report has been issued by a UN entity, which the siege countries are members of, they can no longer claim that reports supporting the position of Qatar are issued by non-government organisations and may not be recognised. Further, she noted that the siege countries refused entry to technical missions into their countries, urging them to allow the missions to enter and document violations, QNA added.
The official praised the important role played by the UN technical mission and the High Commissioner. She recalled that when the siege on Qatar was announced on June 5 last year, the High Commissioner highlighted - on June 14 - the need to quickly settle the crisis - especially with regard to the unjust procedures that affected citizens and individuals. She also praised the effective efforts made by all rights organisations in this connection.
