Qatar responds to ultimatum

Qatar responded to an ultimatum made by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states. The response was not made public as yet, but is is promised to be released “in due time”.

Qatar was accused of sponsoring and supporting terrorist organizations and interfering in other countries’ internal affairs.

The list of 13 demands contained among others:

• Sever ties with the Islamic state, Muslim Brotherhood and Hesbollah
• Stop sponsoring certain media, including Al-Jazeera
• Provide detailed information on opposition leaders in other Arab countries, sponsored by Qatar
• Provide unspecified compensation

In case Qatar fails to fulfill the demands, it may be subjected to economic and diplomatic isolation.

Qatar denied all allegations and called the ultimatum “an affront to international law”. The foreign minister Mohammed Al-Thanisaid, stated that his country does not accept the ultimatum, but is ready to hold a dialogue under the right conditions.

Unprecedented economic and diplomatic sanctions against Qatar were introduced several weeks ago by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE.

The issue has been prominent in social media. Some users call for a boycott of the Harrods department store in London, owned by the Qatar sovereign fund.

Posts and tweets are abundant, informing others of newly born babies being named after conflict countries, for instance, Qatar – or Saudia.