Saudi royal advisor: suppressing demonstrations is an act of war...just not in Saudi Arabia!

Saudi royal advisor: suppressing demonstrations is an act of war...just not in Saudi Arabia!
The fake news peddler has not only called for, but is attempting to create the illusion of a new uprising in Qatar
2 min read
26 Aug, 2017
Saoud al-Qahtani [Twitter]

A Saudi royal advisor has been on Twitter desperately trying to use social media to start an uprising inside Qatar, using hashtags instigated by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi friendly 'bots'.

Saud al-Qahtani, notorious for his hashtags and incoherent rants has already started creating a "blacklist" of pro-Qatar Saudis, in an attempt to silence dissent on the Kingdom's foreign policy.

The Mohammed bin Salman aide has vowed to put those added on the list on some sort of a "trial" if they are caught “conspiring against”, meaning tweeting critically about the governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

However his calls for succumbing to governmental policy lines do not extend past his own country and its allies. The fake news peddler has not only called for, but is attempting to create the illusion of a new uprising in Qatar.

The Saudi spin-doctor called on the "Ghaddafi of the Gulf", an expression first used to describe Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Twitter by a Saudi to stop suppressing this alleged popular uprising in Qatar, otherwise it would be considered as a declaration of war.

In one tweet, he posted a screenshot of a hashtag which translates to “get out Tamim” trending in Qatar. The hashtag was initiated by a Saudi writer. He used a video of protestors being tear-gassed in Bahrain and claimed they were Qatari protestors being abused by Qatari authorities.

The hashtag was then populated with tweeters mainly from the UAE and Saudi Arabia demanding Tamim, and being used by Qataris to troll their Emirati and Saudi counterparts.

The irony is that in supporting (non-existant) demonstrations in Qatar and describing their suppression as an act of war, Qahtani in his official capacity is also saying that peaceful demonstrations in Saudi Arabia must not be suppressed too.

Unfortunately for the many political prisoners languishing in Saudi jails, Qahtani's opportunism rings hollow. 

Said al-Arabi is a pseudonym. The author resides in a jurisdiction where the publication of their identity may create a security or freedom of movement issue.

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