Al Jazeera Won’t Bow to Pressure
Al Jazeera, and its bureau in Kuwait, were similarly put under immense pressure, including efforts to have the bureau shut down, simply to muzzle the Kuwaiti voices that opposed the fabricated crisis. Despite this, we maintained our quiet professional demeanour. The bureau hosted a number of Kuwaiti analysts who shed light on the wrongful practices of the blockading countries. They demanded an immediate end to the crisis, or at least that its effects be limited. We acted with transparency and objectivity, which provoked the blockading countries to demand that the bureau be shut down. When all their efforts failed, the blockading countries resorted to another tactic: to incite the public against the Al Jazeera bureau’s staff. After months of political wrangling, it was our bureau that broke the news of a looming reconciliation agreement. It was a scoop. Before sunset on January 4, 2021, one of my sources telephoned me and gave me the long- awaited news. “This chapter will be closed and a live statement will be aired on Kuwait TV,” he said.
Sheikh Sabah, known as the ‘Father of Humaneness’ and the ‘Godfather of Diplomacy,’ died before the reconciliation agreement was signed. But his efforts helped end one of the darkest chapters in the region’s history. Despite all the pressures, we maintained our self- restraint and professionalism, seeking to tell the story from every angle and giving room to the opinion and the counter opinion. Personally speaking, I hope that Faris is happily married to his Qatari bride.
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