A member of the Qatari royal family,
who was allegedly held
against his will in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has accused Saudi Arabia and
the UAE of orchestrating a months-long Gulf crisis in order to seize Qatar's
wealth, and threatened to commit suicide.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani was
previously portrayed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE as an alternative to the
Qatari leadership amid the major diplomatic dispute.
In an audio recording from January 15
obtained by Al Jazeera, Sheikh Abdullah said the rift was triggered by the
Saudi and Emirati crown princes, whom he accused of plotting to take Qatar's
wealth by force.
"The Gulf crisis is based on
interests and the desire of both Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Salman to
usurp the wealth and riches of Qatar," the sheikh said, referring to the
Abu Dhabi and Saudi crown princes respectively.
"I urge my fellow Qataris to defend
your position," he added, warning his countrymen that the two crown
princes "may blind you with money to destroy your own country".
He went on to blame Mohammed bin Zayed
"for the pressures on me, my confinement, and inability to return
home (Qatar) or join my family, namely my two daughters", and added:
"I have decided to end my life with the aim of preventing any harm to
others."
Majed al-Ansari, a professor at Qatar
University, told Al Jazeera that the recording came as "no surprise".
"We know that [Sheikh Abdullah] has
been pressured in the past couple of months," he said. "He hasn't
been as visible as he was in the beginning of the crisis, which tells us
basically that he wasn't cooperating with his captors."
"There's nobody better situated
than Sheikh Abdullah to talk about what Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin
Salman really want as he was their partner during this crisis," added
Ansari.
"He was in on everything; he was
part of attempts against Qatar through this design to be the replacement of the
Emir [Sheikh Tamim]. But it was clear that there was only so much that he could
do when it comes to bad things he could say about Qatar."
'Prisoner' in the UAE
On January 14, Sheikh Abdullah had
released a video statement, saying he was a "prisoner" in the UAE,
and that if anything happened to him, "Sheikh Mohammed" is
responsible.
While he did not specify, Sheikh
Abdullah appeared to be referring to Abu Dhabi's crown prince.
Abu Dhabi denied detaining Sheikh
Abdullah.
On Wednesday, he flew to Kuwait where he
was transferred to
a hospital shortly after his arrival in a wheelchair.
A day earlier, Abdullah's brother,
Sheikh Khalid, told Al Jazeera that his sibling's health had deteriorated due
to exhaustion and pressure he was exposed to under Emirati authorities.
Sheikh Khalid had added that his brother
was in stable condition and should be leaving the hospital soon.
After Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and
Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar in June, Sheikh Abdullah
appeared frequently on Saudi and UAE television programmes expressing his views
in support of the measures against Doha.
Sheikh Abdullah was residing in Saudi
Arabia since the blockade began.
The Saudi-led group of countries accuse
Qatar of supporting "terrorism", an allegation Doha strongly denies.
Reproduced from Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/qatari-royal-gulf-crisis-seize-qatar-wealth-180119120717269.htmlReproduced from Al Jazeera
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