Terror funding forced to cut Qatar ties: FM

New York : Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar after the latter provided financial support and safe haven to terrorists and fugitives and spread hate and extremism via its media and institutions, Foreign Affairs Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told the United Nations General Assembly yesterday.

“Unfortunately, terrorism has become a tool of nations who use it to destabilize the world. We call for deterrence of states and organizations who support terrorism,” Shaikh Khalid told world leaders.

Shaikh Khalid said that Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt had every sovereign right to take the decision to sever ties with Qatar after patiently waiting for their actions to change, pointing out that Doha supported terrorist acts in Bahrain to overthrow the regime.

“Terrorism is no longer confined to terrorist organizations that we can confront and eliminate. Rather, it has become a tool in the hands of states determined to create crises in other countries in pursuit of their own agenda,” he said.

 “Bahrain firmly believes that maintenance of stability and security in the Middle East and in the entire world requires a strong and common political will as well as serious collective efforts to guarantee respect for the basic principles underlying relations among states, such as good neighborliness, non-interference in the internal affairs and compliance with international conventions and instruments so that we can address the greatest challenge facing us, namely terrorism, and deter those individuals or entities supporting and financing it,” he said.

For legitimacy in Yemen

Bahrain supports the legitimate government under the leadership of President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, President of Yemen, Shaikh Khalid told the UN. “It is no longer acceptable that among us, there are rogue countries occupying others’ territories,” he told the UN.

Support for Palestine

“The Palestinian question comes on top of foreign policy priorities of the Kingdom of Bahrain which has always stood with the Palestinian people in their legitimate aspirations to enjoy all their legitimate rights, including an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital and within the borders of 4 June 1967, in conformity with the relevant international resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the two states solution,” Shaikh Khalid told the UN.

Nuclear-Test Ban treaty 

“The Kingdom of Bahrain stresses the need to achieve the universality of adherence to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, taking into account the right of all peoples to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes. Israel should implement the resolution issued by the Review Conference of the Parties to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty of 1995 pertaining to the Nuclear-free Middle East,”shaikh Khalid told the UN.