Tensions among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have been further aggravated, when a top Dubai security official, General Dahi Khalfan stated that Qatar was the “eighth emirate” of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Last month Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for “for interfering in other countries’ internal affairs.”
Qatar is an integral part of the UAE,” the outspoken Khalfan, a longtime critic of the Doha-backed Muslim Brotherhood, wrote on Twitter on Monday, demanding his country “reclaim” Qatar.
“We must put up signs on our borders with Qatar stating: ‘You are now entering the UAE’s eighth emirate,'” said Khalfan.
Khalfan’s declaration caused some consternation in the Gulf region, especially Kuwait, where his words reminded some of the “late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s justification to invade Kuwait.”
An unsigned editorial in the UAE based, GulfNews underlined the concerns addressed by Khalfan’s implied threat claiming that though the Emirates were committed to non-interference in the affairs of their neighbors “Qatar has permitted too much interference in the affairs of its neighbours.”
[Photo: Stevertigo / WikiCommons ]
