to go from boycott to coast?

June 5th. A fateful date for the Arabs, a day of mourning, pain and anger. Since the summer of 1967, it has been commemorating the "naksa", the stinging "setback" of the Arab armies against Israel, who emerged victorious from the so-called Six-Day War. Three "brother" countries, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, have come out of it slaughtered and cut down whole areas of their territory. The Gaza Strip, the West Bank and, above all, East Jerusalem, are at the same time under the thumb of the Jewish state. Since then, June 5 rhymes with Palestinian drama

Qatar, United Arab Emirates, a prestigious rivalry

Until June 5, 2017. On that day, three other "brother" countries, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia immediately joined Egypt, launching a real political-diplomatic "blitz" against Qatar. They impose on it, without warning and without appeal, an immediate blockade, maritime, terrestrial and aerial. The small and very wealthy gas emirate suddenly finds itself caught in the pincers, on land, at sea and up to the sky, which has the effect of nailing dozens of planes, canceling as many flights, leaving on the ground Thousands of travelers … Doha, is summoned all the time, among other Ukas, and break with Iran and dismantle the Turkish military base it houses and even close the controversial and no less influential El-El chain. Djazira, property of the emir, voice and diplomatico-political tool of the State of Qatar …

A year later, Qatar commemorates the year one of his "victory" against the blockade, with brochures, colloquia and travels, inviting anyone, journalist or expert, to see it first hand in the field. Indeed, apart from the obligation for Qatar Airways to make a long detour over Iran to leave or return to Doha, there is no more indication that the country lives under embargo on the part of its immediate neighbors. Yesterday unavoidable, fresh Saudi products, especially dairy products, and drugs, have disappeared from the stalls, where now abound instead, Algerian yogurts, Turkish or Bulgarian cheeses, Indian pomegranates and mineral water imported from Iceland, of Montenegro and even of … Fiji Islands

Far from breaking with Turkey and Iran, this absolute enemy before the Lord, Qatar has strengthened even more the links with these two "brothers" from which come now and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Better still, the emirate, with its wealth, is more than ever inclined towards food self-sufficiency; To this end, thousands of dairy cows are multiplying greenhouse crops to the point of opening special counters in supermarkets under the "national products" label, where cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans and peppers are accumulating. Located in the desert, a mini dairy empire named Baladna – "Our country-" already produces up to 10,000 liters of white gold per hour, says an official leaflet.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, a crisis of leadership

One year after the blockade, Qatar has almost come to congratulate itself. To have overcome, with unexpected success; the test of isolation having strengthened him in his desire to dispense with any exchange with his immediate neighborhood. After setting up the Hamad port, it no longer depends on that of Dubai, causing a hard loss to the latter. The tributaries include building materials to complete all the buildings and structures of the Mondial 2022 whose cranes saturate the sky of Doha. Nevertheless, Qatar, which stands on the largest gas field in the world, continues to provide less to the UAE, every day, no less than 56 million m3, a third of their daily needs. This is the almost unique exchange maintained between the enemy brothers. On the other hand, Qatar Airways, which has had to cut 18 routes, accuses the financial blow, a dry loss of 500 million dollars. A setback that also translates into a drastic drop in the influx of local tourists

In a nutshell, this Arab-Arab conflict has sidelined the hitherto sacrosanct Israeli-Arab conflict. This June 5, 2018, it will have been only question of the "crisis" of the Gulf, all taken together, Israel having meanwhile become a quasi ally against the enemy of the day, Iran. Without delay, Qatar chooses to mark this anniversary by assigning United Arab Emirates to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Which calls, in the same month, the two protagonists so that everyone can plead his case. From the outset and very skillfully, Doha played the card of the "violation" of human rights. And to mention the arbitrary expulsions of Qataris lawfully established among neighbors, forced separation of mixed families, confiscation of their property … In support of his grievances, the emirate provides the reports of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, as well as "ad hoc" files constituted by the National Committee for Human Rights, an official body.

A "report" that the United Arab Emirates strictly opposes, in unison with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which evoke, they, not a "blockade" but a reaction of "legitimate defense", against a Qatar according to them as "unfair" as "subversive". They blame their neighbor pell-mell for offering shelter, shelter and money to the "sect" of the Muslim Brotherhood, a "terrorist" organization totally outlawed in Abu Dhabi, Manama, Cairo or Riyadh. all seeing in her the unique cause of all the misfortunes of the Arab world. Doha would not only be guilty of sheltering but also offer him the formidable platform of El-Djazira to spread his message "deadly" from the Gulf to the Atlantic … Reciprocal accusations rain. An implacable war of the waves fires all the woods, each denouncing in the other, with great reinforcements of "revelations" sensationalist or file "exclusive", a "sponsor of the terror", a "false brother", in short, a "real enemy". Extravagant conflict, however. Apart from the Egyptians, the protagonists of the Gulf are all cousins ​​by their tribal affiliation and Islamic "brothers in the faith", including in its Wahhabi version. What's more, they have another common denominator of being rich countries, so envied and almost the only Arab countries living apart and away from war fires ravaging their immediate neighbors, Iraq, Syria, Yemen …

The Gulf Crisis, after the "Arab Spring"?

Could it be, in this regard, a backlash, a tragic version of the sprinkler syndrome watered? Did not these prosperous and peaceful countries play with fire by sponsoring more than one party, group or militia, including jihadists, from Baghdad to Tripoli via Damascus and Benghazi? A fire that the winds of revolts that brood can only attract and spread to the four horizons. One year after the beginning of the crisis, no one seems to know what tomorrow will be like. For the moment, everyone fours weapons, including media. Together, everything is relative, in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), set up at the beginning of 1981, at the instigation of Washington, in order to better make a united front against the very young Islamic Republic of Iran, the six states will have a stumbling block over their most popular projects, namely a single passport, a single currency, a common army, a diplomacy speaking with one voice.

For a year, the Council has broken Sultanate of Oman and Kuwait refused to associate with Qatar's index listing, creating an unexpected breach for Iran, now well and truly introduced in the place. Ditto for Turkey, great protector of the Muslim Brotherhood before the Lord, who takes the opportunity to consolidate its military base. Rich and underpopulated, archaic and futuristic, peaceful and over-armed, the Gulf accumulates records, comfort and pollution, of immigrant workers – up to eight in ten in Qatar! – and foreign military bases -I Fleet of Us Navy in Bahrain, staff, the second after Florida, Us Army in Qatar, to which must be added a Turkish installation, relay of the French Navy in Abu Dhabi-, all on background of devastating conflict in nearby Yemen …