Social media was abuzz with a new trending topic yesterday as residents and others reacted to a long list of orders given to Qatar by its neighbors amid an ongoing siege.
Many people are ridiculing the demands put forth by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.
According to leaked documents, they include shuttering Al Jazeera, closing down Turkey’s new military base in Qatar and curbing ties with Iran.
https://twitter.com/Mozaalkhater_/status/878289540770693120
Qatar has also been given 10 days to agree to compensate the boycotting nations an unspecified amount, stop funding certain political groups and submit to regular compliance audits for the next 10 years.
Qatar officials have acknowledged receipt of the list, and said it is preparing a response.
Its communications office hit out at the orders, saying they are not reasonable.
“This list of demands confirms what Qatar has said from the beginning — the illegal blockade has nothing to do with combating terrorism, it is about limiting Qatar’s sovereignty, and outsourcing our foreign policy,” said Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani in a statement.
Reaction
Residents and Qatar supporters appear to agree.
Under the new hashtag #WeDemandQatar, users have been coming up with their own list of demands to highlight the presumed absurdity of the original conditions.
Not everyone is so amused, however.
Bloomberg reports the UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs as saying Qatar must take the demands seriously or face “divorce” from the Gulf.
In a series of tweets, Anwar Gargash said:
“The brother (Qatar) must realize that the solution for its crisis lies not in Tehran or Beirut or Ankara or Western capitals or in media outlets, but in regaining the trust of its neighbors.
It is not possible to accept that the brother continues as the Trojan horse” in the Gulf or as a funder and “platform for an extremist agenda.”
Thoughts?