Sheikh Tamim assures Merkel Qatar doesn't supporting ‘terrorist organizations’
Written by : Mohamed Abdel Fattah
Sep17, 2014
Qatar's emir told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that his country "has never and will never supportIslamic State in Iraq and Syria, telling that his own country's security was jeopardised by the militants.
"Qatar has never supported extremist groups," Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani told a joint press conference, according to the German simultaneous translation. "What is happening in Iraq and Syria is extremism, and those groupings are being partially funded from abroad, but Qatar has never and will never support terrorist organisations.”
The comments came after Tamim was asked about a German politician’s comments last month suggesting that Qatar has played a role in funding militants belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Merkel said she was happy the emir could answer the question in an open forum to "correct faulty assessments."
Tamim, 34, the emir is the youngest head of state in the Arab world. He took over the position from his father, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who increased Qatar's economic output sevenfold during his reign from 1995 to 2013.
Qatar has long faced criticism, including from neighbouring Gulf Arab states, of using its vast oil and gas wealth to back Islamists across the region.
The chancellor also pointed out that Qatar had also pledged its support to the US-launched alliance formed to combat IS fighters.
The terror group has made significant territorial gains in parts of Iraq and Syria in recent months, prompting US President Barack Obama to launch a new strategy - including airstrikes - to "degrade and destroy" the militants.
Obama pledged last week to establish a coalition to defeat ISIS fighters in both Iraq and Syria, plunging the United States into two separate civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake.
ISIS fighters set off alarms across the Middle East since June when they swept across northern Iraq, seizing cities, slaughtering prisoners, proclaiming a caliphate to rule over all Muslims and ordering non-Sunnis to convert or die.
The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, fearful the militants would break the country up and use it as a base for attacks on the West.
sources
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/09/17/Qatar-emir-says-Doha-not-supporting-terrorist-organizations-.html
http://www.dw.de/emir-assures-merkel-qatar-has-never-supported-is-militants/a-17928288
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/17/uk-iraq-crisis-germany-qatar-idUSKBN0HC18T20140917
Sep17, 2014
Qatar's emir told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that his country "has never and will never supportIslamic State in Iraq and Syria, telling that his own country's security was jeopardised by the militants.
"Qatar has never supported extremist groups," Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani told a joint press conference, according to the German simultaneous translation. "What is happening in Iraq and Syria is extremism, and those groupings are being partially funded from abroad, but Qatar has never and will never support terrorist organisations.”
The comments came after Tamim was asked about a German politician’s comments last month suggesting that Qatar has played a role in funding militants belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Merkel said she was happy the emir could answer the question in an open forum to "correct faulty assessments."
Tamim, 34, the emir is the youngest head of state in the Arab world. He took over the position from his father, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who increased Qatar's economic output sevenfold during his reign from 1995 to 2013.
Qatar has long faced criticism, including from neighbouring Gulf Arab states, of using its vast oil and gas wealth to back Islamists across the region.
The chancellor also pointed out that Qatar had also pledged its support to the US-launched alliance formed to combat IS fighters.
The terror group has made significant territorial gains in parts of Iraq and Syria in recent months, prompting US President Barack Obama to launch a new strategy - including airstrikes - to "degrade and destroy" the militants.
Obama pledged last week to establish a coalition to defeat ISIS fighters in both Iraq and Syria, plunging the United States into two separate civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake.
ISIS fighters set off alarms across the Middle East since June when they swept across northern Iraq, seizing cities, slaughtering prisoners, proclaiming a caliphate to rule over all Muslims and ordering non-Sunnis to convert or die.
The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, fearful the militants would break the country up and use it as a base for attacks on the West.
sources
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/09/17/Qatar-emir-says-Doha-not-supporting-terrorist-organizations-.html
http://www.dw.de/emir-assures-merkel-qatar-has-never-supported-is-militants/a-17928288
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/17/uk-iraq-crisis-germany-qatar-idUSKBN0HC18T20140917
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