Strasbourg - The Emir, H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, addressing the European Parliament here yesterday, criticised Western countries for their attitude toward the embattled Palestinian government led by Hamas.
"The Palestinian government, formed by Hamas in accordance with the free will of the Palestinian people, should have the opportunity to work for the people who elected it," he told the European Parliament.
The Emir is the first Gulf head of state to address the European assembly in Strasbourg.
But "instead of rewarding the Palestinian people for practising democracy, something rarely witnessed in our region, they have been punished for it," with an international embargo, he added. The Emir, centre, in the European Parliament. (AFP)
"Is this not a double standard: to demand free elections, and then object to the results?" said the Emir.
The Emir reiterated that democracy is not a mere necessity for each state but an indispensable condition for the success of regional integration and stability of the international relations in any region, because it prevents a state from deciding arbitrarily on what should be shared by all states and peoples.
The Emir called upon all reasonable, wise and honest people, both in the east and the west, to stand up together to block the cries for division and intolerance, which threaten peace and the respect for religions and holy places.
"It is equally important to cooperate in order to fight against distortion, caused by troublemakers, the ignorant and extremists, of the perceptions fabricated by each party about the other. The state of Qatar continuously exerts all efforts for this purpose and hosts many forums with the aim of encouraging dialogue between civilisations, amongst which is the annual forum for dialogue between religions," the Emir said.
In his speech, the Emir expressed his gratitude for the invitation extended to him to address the Parliament, "the members of which, representing more than 450m Europeans, support the most successful regional integration in the whole world."
"When addressing the European Parliament, one has no choice but to express great admiration for the diligent work accomplished on the European continent for many decades, during which your countries were able, by reason and by will power, to forget the painful pages of the past and open another promising chapter that includes many instances of success. The high international status that the European Parliament enjoys today represents a beacon of inspiration for many other areas in the world. We, in the Arab world, have the Arab League experience that we hope could reach what you have accomplished," he said.
"Qatar has chosen democracy as a means to protect human rights and the people's participation. Her tendency towards democracy corresponds with our obligatory practice of the Al Shoura principle, which is acknowledged in Islam as a basic rule, not to be disregarded, but to be applied in order to expand participation, so that it will not only favour a limited class but spread to include all people. Also, it will not be practised selectively, but will be recognised as a right that cannot be ignored or trespassed. If the reality in our area sometimes shows the contrary, then this is not due to any deficiency in the shoura principle itself, but is due to misinterpretation and malpractice. Islam does not only urge its people to participate in public affairs, but it also admonishes them to respect minorities and to protect their rights, constantly reminding them to be acquainted with other world cultures and to interact with them as well in a give-and-take relationship," the Emir added.
"I would like to mention that the Arabs were the bridge on which the Greek civilisation has crossed to Europe, by translating into Arabic the main intellectual works of the famous Greek philosophers and thinkers, which then were being transferred to the European intellect and consequently triggered the Renaissance. Many people came into contact with Islam and converted to this religion with their full conviction and acceptance through interaction with Muslims and the cultural communication with them. Thus Islam has spread by dialogue and flourished by conviction, and has never been imposed by force, although there are people who say otherwise: they err and they have wronged Islam."
Middle-eastern affairs have always remained of significant importance to Europe, because of the geographical proximity of the two regions and their political, economic and cultural continuity, which has never ceased to exist throughout history.
Comprehensive reform and real democracy are the way to a better middle east, so that its countries may experience stability and its peoples enjoy freedom, its institutions getting stronger and its states may progress on the basis of respect for the law.
The Middle East, the people of which have all the basic and scientific and economic means to deal as equals with their neighbours and the rest of the world, joining them and not being alienated from them.
In this respect, we know, and probably Europe knows it better, that immigration from or through the Middle East becomes a huge challenge. Although Europe has worked very hard for years to face this challenge, successful solutions always need to go back to the roots of the problem and to deal with its causes, not only its symptoms.
So when the reform process succeeds and the culture of democracy stabilises in the Middle East, and when its peoples are able to fight corruption in all its forms, the majority of those who were looking for freedom and a decent life outside their countries, will no longer emigrate as long as they find in their own countries what they aspire to.
Consolidation of democracy and achieving peace in the Middle East are goals of equal importance. Lack of democracy and not reaching a just solution for the Palestinian cause has produced various forms of violence, which some people consider as terrorism to be fought against with the most severe means, without differentiating between one form or another or considering ways to remove the causes that nourish it.
We believe that a just solution to the Palestinian question should be based on the implementation of all international resolutions by both the Israeli and Palestinian side, with the support of the international community to both sides, as to avoid the level of complexity to which their relations have reached recently.
The Palestinian government, constituted by the Hamas movement in accordance with the free will of the Palestinian people in the previous months, should have been given the opportunity to work for the people who have elected it.
Instead of rewarding the Palestinian people for practicing democracy, something rarely witnessed in our region, they have been punished for it. I do not understand how an embargo can be imposed on a government that has been democratically elected and how collective sanctions can be imposed on the whole of the people, just because it practices its democratic right to elect who will govern it. Is this not a double standard: to demand a free vote, and then object to its results?
Settling the Palestinian question is linked to the readiness of Israel to fulfil all its obligations by implementing the international resolutions, which stipulate the withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with the holy city of Jerusalem as its capital, the immediate ending of the destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and the killing and torturing of civilians, as a result of which tens of innocent Palestinians in the occupied territories have lost their lives, the last instance being the massacre F Beit Hanoun. This is the way out for the Palestinian question from the impasse that it has reached, and we see that the international community ought to exert more diligent efforts to reach a quick solution, as this would not only benefit the middle east, but also the whole world.
Before ending my speech I would like to refer to the strength of the cooperation relations between the European union and Qatar in specific and the cooperation council for the Arab Gulf states in general: the state of Qatar has been eager, since signing in 1989 the cooperation treaty between the countries of the cooperation council of the Arab Gulf states and the then EEC, to develop its relations with the European countries in different fields. In the field of energy alone, Qatar has signed contracts with a number of countries of the European Union, amongst which Italy, Belgium, Britain, and Spain, to meet some of their demand of natural gas. In this important field, beside other cultural, political and economic areas, Qatar and the European Union can strengthen their ties and develop their relations. I thank you again, peace on you, and God's mercy and blessings.
© The Peninsula 2006
