RIYADH — The secretary general of the
GCC on Saturday
condemned remarks by Germany’s interior minister on the World Cup due to be
hosted in Doha.
اضافة اعلان
Qatar on Friday summoned Germany’s ambassador to
protest against comments made by Interior Minister
Nancy Faeser casting doubt
on whether the Gulf state should host the football World Cup.
GCC chief Nayef al-Hajraf on Saturday expressed
support for Qatar in a statement published on the council’s website.
The six-member Gulf bloc backs Doha in “addressing
any interference in its internal affairs by publishing allegations that do not
serve the establishment of normal relations between the two countries”, he
said.
“Qatar is heading toward making new successes, and
hosting the 2022 World Cup is a source of deserved pride,” he said.
Faeser had said, in an interview with the ARD
network aired on Thursday, that Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup next month was
“very tricky” for Germany.
“There are criteria that must be adhered to and it
would be better that tournaments are not awarded to such states,” she added.
In a separate statement released ahead of her visit
with the head of the German football federation Bernd Neuendorf, she said that
rights would be raised in talks.
“No World Cup takes place in a vacuum. Human rights
always apply everywhere — and now the whole world is paying special attention,”
Faeser said.
This is the first time Qatar has summoned a foreign
ambassador over such comments.
Qatar has come under increasing scrutiny over its
treatment of foreign laborers and human rights record since it earned the right
to host world football’s biggest event.
The country has highlighted widespread reforms to its labor
and industrial safety record in recent years that have been hailed by
international labor unions.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
