Politicians “want to score points”
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Laments “Double Standards”
11/06/2022, 8:58 p.m
In two weeks the football World Cup will start in Qatar. Qatar’s Foreign Minister Al Thani assures in an interview that nobody in the country is discriminated against – and laments German accusations in this regard. And he thinks: The German population is misinformed by their government politicians.
The Qatari government has expressed anger at criticism from the federal government. Two weeks before the start of the soccer World Cup, Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani criticized “double standards” in Berlin in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. On the one hand, “the German population is misinformed by government politicians.” On the other hand, the government has no problem with Qatar when it comes to energy partnerships or rescuing German citizens from Afghanistan. “If we are hosting a football World Cup, want to enjoy this moment and celebrate together with the German team, then suddenly different standards apply,” said the Qatari foreign minister, according to a preliminary announcement.
The displeasure in Doha was sparked by statements by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who, among other things, had demanded security guarantees for the LGBT community. “With all due respect, these were not necessary at all,” Al Thani said. “We have repeatedly repeated from the highest level that everyone is welcome and that nobody is discriminated against.” The security forces have “clear instructions to only intervene if the safety of a fan is endangered because of violence”. said Al Thani. Qatar has always been open to constructive criticism. “But if statements come from a government that supposedly works with us and is aware of all developments and reforms that are based on misinformation and create a false image, then we cannot accept that.”
Regarding the refusal of the Qatari leadership to set up a compensation fund for foreign migrant workers from the World Cup construction sites, he explained that a fund had already been set up in the Ministry of Labor in 2018 to step in if companies do not pay compensation for injuries and deaths or wages. “Last year alone we paid out around $350 million to workers,” said the Qatari foreign minister. “The same organizations that are calling for a new fund are directing workers who want to make claims to our fund.”