Turkish and Qatari media end political truce with Saudi Arabia
The political truce agreed by Saudi Arabia with Turkey and Qatar has come to an end after media outlets affiliated with these two countries published information against the Saudi crown prince. Among all the information published, the human rights dossier and the war in Yemen stand out, as well as direct insults to Mohammed bin Salman himself.
The media in question criticise the decision to release feminist activist Loujain Al-Hathloul, arguing that it is not a decision based on legal process, but rather a response to restrictive measures imposed by the US government. Moreover, the Biden administration issued a statement in which it said it was holding talks with Saudi Arabia, but had no intention of doing so with the crown prince.
Moreover, in relation to the human rights dossier, pro-Qatar media quoted a Human Rights Watch statement questioning the effectiveness of Saudi reforms regarding moratoriums on executions of those who committed crimes while still minors. "The adoption of a Saudi penal code that supports basic rights will be a change, but the authorities should not slide towards filling it with the same blanket criminal charges, which are used to silence peaceful criticism and restrict basic rights," the Qatari media outlet explained. To which they added the example of the young Ali Mohammed al-Nimr who was arrested when he was 17 for pro-Shia protests: "One of the tests of the promised penal reform will now be whether it will support the rights of children who participate in protests against government discrimination, like Ali al-Nimr".
The Ankara-based Anadolu Agency also chimed in on this series of "attacks" against the Kingdom: "Saudi Arabia faces continued human rights criticism due to its record, especially in the field of carrying out death sentences". To which he also added statements by Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Tawakkol Karman: "Saudi Arabia and Iran are hostile to Yemen from two different places, but they are converging to achieve their influence on a torn map". Karman's statements were somewhat controversial due to his close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is internationally considered a terrorist organisation.
Some of the media also referred to the UAE ambassador to the United States, Yusef Al-Otaiba. His close position to Donald Trump's administration over the past four years had proved very fruitful for his country. However, Joe Biden's arrival in the White House has cooled their relationship. The president's decision to suspend US support in Yemen has not gone down well with the UAE embassy and, according to Qatari sources, has led to clashes in Congress.
Saudi Arabia believes that all the information leaked against the Kingdom from Turkish and Qatari media has a political message against Riyadh. Unlike on other occasions, this time they do not intend to point the finger directly at the government. What they intend to do is to disguise their attacks by progressively leaking reports against the country, with destabilisation as the main objective of all these actions.
Nor is the possibility that there are official parties behind all this information against Saudi Arabia ruled out. The opportunity to put pressure on the country that took a stand against Qatar by leading the Arab Quartet, and which disagreed with Turkey's policies for more than three years, and to overturn the Khashoggi case - from which Ankara did not benefit at all - are some of the hypotheses that are not ruled out by Saudi Arabia to justify this wave of reports against the Kingdom.
