Saudi Arabia, along with other Arab countries that cut ties to Qatar have reportedly issued a list of demands to put an end to the major Gulf crisis. The demands include shutting down the Al Jazeera network, close a Turkish military base, and scale down ties with Iran. Media sources obtained the list from unnamed officials from one of the countries involved in the isolation. The 13-point list also demands that Qatar sever all alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, and other groups, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and ISIL.
Led by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Bahrain cut ties to Qatar this month, alleging that it funds “terrorism”- accusations that have been strongly denied by the country. The group, in its demands has asked Qatar to refuse to naturalise citizens from the four countries and “revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries' laws.” The document also said that it must shut down diplomatic posts in Iran, expel any members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and only conduct trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US sanctions. If the conditions are complied with, the document asserts that Qatar will be audited once a month for the first year, and then once per quarter in the second year after it takes effect.
Human cost of the crisis
The worst-affected, both - nationals and migrants based in the country face forced uncertainty. People have been flooding into the office of Qatar's national human rights committee. “We've seen 700 people already in the past week. Every night it's been like this,” an official said. Several families of mixed Gulf nationalities face fears of separation, while many have lost jobs or prospects of education.
Given the gravity of the situation, Amnesty International warned that the new restrictions are tearing families apart. It documented a Saudi Arabian man living in Doha with his Qatari wife, unable to visit his ill mother in Saudi. It also described the plight of a newly-wed Qatari woman who was in the process of moving to Bahrain to live with her husband, a Bahraini, when the new rules came into force.
The move also prompted utter chaos, and counter-measures were almost immediate. A desert nation that imports over 40 per cent of its food needs through its only land border with Saudi Arabia, Qatar's stock market fell by over 7 per cent. Residents rushed to stock up on essential food items as hundreds of trucks transporting food and construction materials were stopped mid-way. Flights were delayed at the Hamad International Airport - the country's major transit hub for 37 million passengers a year. Qatar Airways, was forced to reroute Europe-bound flights over Iranian and Turkish airspace.
How it affects the rest of the world
The smallest of instability in the Middle East directly affects oil prices. While oil and gas markets have been taking all crisis in good balance until now, the latest issue is expected to change the game. Chief Market Strategist at CFD and FZ provider AxiTrader, Greg McKenna said, “Qatar is the world's biggest LNG exporter. It has pipelines in the Gulf and could retaliate but cutting off supplies to its neighbours. (It's) something to watch.”
Qatar is also scheduled to host the Football World Cup 2022. Diplomatic crisis and travel restrictions to the area could pose problems to supplies, workers, and of course, thousands of football fans who plan to visit the country.
Gulf Crisis and India
Considering the situation, Indian Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj said India did not foresee any problem for its own relations in the Gulf as it was “an internal matter of GCC (Gulf Coordination Council)”. She also expressed concern for the 650,000 Indians living in Qatar, now stuck in the crisis. “Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there,” Swaraj said. “They (Gulf nations) have done this before, we hope things will get better soon.”
According to latest data, over 6,50,000 Indian nationals live and work in Qatar, outnumbering native Qataris by almost 2:1. The situation bodes even worse for South Indian state Kerala. Of the estimated 650,000 Indians currently placed in the country, 300,000 are Keralites.
PM Narendra Modi expressed “deep concern” for the safety of the Indians, saying more than half belonged to his state. “As you are aware millions of Indians are working in countries in the Middle East and therefore the geo-political developments in the region has raised deep concerns among the people in the state since each family has at least one family member or a relative in the region.”
Was it really necessary?
More or less like the supply of oil in the region, the Middle East is really not short on crisis. Syria is suffering the worst humanitarian disaster since World War II. There are 18.8 million people in need of serious aid in Yemen, with 100,000 suffering from cholera. Two million Palestinians have less than four hours of electricity a day, with Israel looking forward to an increasing possibility of another war. Also, thousands of people are currently displaced, placing a new human rights record, and Libya has three governments.
With so much going on in the region, the additional crisis has only taken away focus from the main issues. Qatar has been bombarded with several allegations, most of which are not backed by any credible evidence. Saudi accusing Qatar of funding extremist groups and intolerant ideologies reek heavily of hypocrisy.
