RARE PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION IN QATAR: SOLIDARITY

UNCLAS DOHA 000339 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ASEC PREL IZ QA SUBJECT: RARE PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION IN QATAR: SOLIDARITY WITH IRAQ ¶1. (U) The Qatari Central Municipal Council organized a "rally" the afternoon of March 28 to show solidarity with Iraq. It lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes. The event took place at a central location along the city's corniche. Participants numbered a maximum of 400 and mostly included high-school and university-level young men. Female participants added up to about 15. These student groups appeared to have been bused to the demonstration in an organized fashion by Qatar's private bus company. Nine or 10 Council members also participated. Less than 150 individuals stayed to listen to the speakers. -------------- Two Takes on "Jihad" -------------- ¶2. (U) Slogans raised during the demonstration called for the unity of Iraq and an end to sectarian violence. The Municipal Council chairman spoke to the crowd, saying that "occupation" of Iraq and Palestine was the cause of the suffering of the respective peoples. Another speaker, said to be an Iraqi professor, said that the Iraqi resistance was "jihad." Dr. Ali al-Quradaghi, a prominent cleric in Qatar and an Iraqi Kurd, spoke about lawful menas of jihad to resist foreign occupation. -------------- Staged Event? -------------- ¶3. (SBU) An Embassy contact told us March 29 that the demonstration was probably not the Municipal Council's idea. Rather, others -- perhaps activists at the university -- had managed it behind the scenes for political reasons. He told us that, in granting a permit for the event, the GOQ wanted to show that it allows free speech and is "democratic." Another Embassy contact noted that the demonstration, which appeared to be "manufactured," did not draw a large crowd. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Press reports called the demonstration a "rally," avoiding the term "protest" or "demonstration." This, and the fact that there were no signs of anti-Americanism, indicate that the event was carefully managed. The demonstration probably received some sort of semi-official backing. We note that there has been no recent single political event in Iraq to trigger such a demonstration; therefore, the exact purpose of the event, from the Qatari point of view, is not entirely clear: It does not seem to have vented dangerous tensions, and it does not say anything particular about Qatar's aloof policy toward Iraq. UNTERMEYER