Opinion Those Doha summits
How Qatar is emerging as the problem-solving emirate
Once upon a time in the Middle East,Qatar didnt matter much. It was a sleepy emirate,more Bedouin than boulevard,its royals found their way to schools in Dubai and Sharjah and the country went along with almost no participation in the politics of the big bad world. But that changed when Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani deposed his father in a bloodless coup in 1995.
It was then that modern Qatar began to take shape,the Qatar we see today,the emirate of intervention,the problem-solving nation. A flurry of calls has been made to this small emirate in the past month over the Libyan issue. The White House called the emir,the emir called upon his allies in the Arab League. Qatar sent six warplanes to patrol the Libyan sky,the first Arab nation to do so. Qatar chose to act,and it reminded the Arab League that it was at their behest that the resolution had gained momentum. Now Qatari warplanes fly alongside French aircraft as a no-fly zone is imposed over Libya,but one wonders,how seriously does Qatar really take itself?
One need not look too far. Qatar is seen at diplomatic tables,its emir has been photographed with Ahmadinejad,Bush,Chavez and just about any international player of significance. Qatar believes it is the countrys national duty to act and thus is born the role of Qatar the mediator. It has brokered deals with Hezbollah,mediated in the much publicised 2008 peace deal in Lebanon that brought calm after 18 months of stalemate and is actively involved in finding a resolution to the crisis in Darfur. In fact,Qatars benevolence is such that in 2007,it negotiated the release of Bulgarian nurses jailed in Libya for apparently spreading AIDS. Qatars role in the international arena now parallels that formerly played by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. After all,it is seen as solving problems in all the right places,from Morocco to Chechnya.
It doesnt end there. Qatars influence is present in almost every home in the Middle East. Al Jazeera,owned by the al-Thani family,has brought to the Middle East a channel so free that it annoys neighbours. Note that a scuffle broke out between Qatar and Saudi Arabia because of critical reportage. It was followed by five years of icy relations,until Qatar reduced its focus on Saudi Arabia.
Qatar proudly announces that it is the only Middle Eastern country to do away with the ministry of information. This when former minister Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani is now the chairman of Al Jazeeras board of directors. The network has its critics. Even the recent dispatch of WikiLeaks cables read,Al Jazeera,the most watched satellite television station in the Middle East,is heavily subsidised by the Qatari government and has proved itself a useful tool for the stations political masters. Al Jazeeras ability to influence public opinion throughout the region is a substantial source of leverage for Qatar. Yet,Al Jazeera claims editorial independence.
Qatar,like its immediate neighbour Saudi Arabia,is a Wahhabi state. But modern Qatar is everything Saudi Arabia is not. It is a land of freedom,a land of bikinis and alcohol. And life could not get any sweeter for Qatari nationals. They enjoy the worlds highest per capita income according to some estimates,thanks to natural oil and gas reserves.
But here is the flip side to the rosy Qatari story. It was only in 2004 that constitutional reform was enacted. It was then that a woman was given the role of minister of education but Qatar is no bastion of democracy. The al-Thani clan has been ruling the country since 1825. Therefore,Al Jazeera,the vocal Arab mouthpiece,is free to report on anything and everything but Qatar,its emir or the royals.
A Qatari municipal council was created to give every Qatari a voice,but nothing has come out of that. It seems that the apathetic people of Qatar are more interested in Gum Ball Rally where superfast cars race each other. They are enjoying another source of pride,the chance to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. But there are no adequate stadia and its 70 per cent expatriate workforce will have to erect the planned 12 stadia.
Yet,those expatriates who have built Qatar enjoy no freedoms,no inclusion. An Indian friend in Doha asked me,I have been living here for the past 22 years. Doha is my home,but should the emir wish so my family and I have to pack up. How tolerant is this Qatar? But thats the face of Qatar that you seldom see.
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