The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– ‘Right to pilgrimage’ –
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in what has emerged as the worst political crisis to grip the region in decades.
The Saudi decision to reopen the frontier for Qatari pilgrims came shortly after the kingdom’s powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Qatari envoy Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling dynasty.
It was the first public high-level encounter between the nations since the crisis erupted.
The Qatari foreign minister, however, said Sheikh Abdullah had acted on a “personal initiative” by meeting the crown prince on Wednesday in the Saudi city of Jeddah and not on behalf of the Doha government.
The decision also came after SPA reported that Crown Prince Mohammed had received a phone call from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has sought repeatedly to defuse the regional crisis.
Saudi Arabia last month said Qatari pilgrims would be allowed to enter the kingdom for hajj this year but imposed several travel restrictions, including flying in only on airlines approved by Riyadh.
Doha has accused Riyadh of jeopardising the pilgrimage to Mecca by refusing to guarantee the safety of Qatari citizens.
“We hope that the Saudi authorities cooperate with our government agencies to ensure the security of the Qatari people,” the foreign minister said in Stockholm.
Analysts cautioned Thursday that the diplomatic crisis was far from over.
“This is a goodwill gesture towards the Qatari people and not a breakthrough with the Qatari” government, Ali Shihabi of Washington-based think-tank Arabia Foundation said on Twitter, referring to the border reopening.
The decision also drew strong opinions on social media, with many Qataris making critical comments.
“We do not need the (Saudi) king’s charity. The Qatari right to pilgrimage is not given as charity from the king,” one Qatari wrote on Twitter.
“He (King Salman) didn’t invite them to his own house. And every Muslim has the right to go to hajj,” wrote another Twitter user.
A tiny gas-rich emirate with a population of 2.6 million, 80 percent of them foreigners, Qatar ranks as the world’s richest country on a per capita basis, according to the International Monetary Fund.
