Qatar has responded strongly to the attack of the UAE and Bahrain at the UN, telling the General Assembly that the UAE has been destabilising countries in the region, and Bahrain interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
During speeches made at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, Third Secretary at Qatar's UN mission Ahmed al-Kuwari said that UAE spearheaded operations aimed at undermining the stability and security of different countries.
In response to Abu Dhabi's renewed accusations of Qatar supporting terrorism, he said the financial sector in the UAE has become a haven for money laundering and illegal financial transactions.
He further said UAE does not care about its international obligations, referring to international reports on serious human rights violations in the UAE. He said a leading example of such violations was the UAE sentencing a citizen to 15 years in jail for just voicing his opinions. This is in sharp contrast to UAE claims of being a sponsor of democracy and modernism in the region.
Al-Kuwari said: "It has been clear that the regimes in Abu Dhabi and Manama have been directing fabricated accusations against Qatar. This is a continuation of a series of fabrications and claims that aim at justifying the illegal measures taken against Qatar. The UAE paved the way for such actions by resorting to electronic piracy at a time when the international community is collaborating to fight cybercrimes that threaten international peace and security."
He said Qatar has adopted self-control and the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes.
The representative of the UAE at the UN said "the claims regarding piracy" and the 'fabricated statements' are completely false allegations. She was referring to the accusations against her country of hacking the Qatar News Agency (QNA) website, just before the blockade on Qatar was announced by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on June 5, 2017.
She added that the four countries reject what she called the conspiracy theory regarding cybersecurity, and instead encourage Qatar to stop changing the topic and start changing its provocative behaviour.
The representative of Bahrain at the UN said the four countries have taken a sovereign decision to boycott Qatar to maintain their security and stability because of what he described as Qatari interference in their internal affairs.
He added that Qatar had supported what he called the 'terrorist' groups inside Bahrain, and offered them media and financial assistance.
