11/12/2015
6500 times read
11/12/2015
6500 times read
DUBAI, Dec 10, (Agencies): Gulf Arab leaders condemned “hostile, racist” remarks against Muslims and Syrian refugees on Thursday, days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a ban Muslims entering the United States. “The supreme council expressed its deep concern at the increase of hostile, racist and inhumane rhetoric against refugees in general and Muslims in particular,” the Gulf Cooperation Council said, referring to a GCC heads of state meeting in Riyadh. It called for “providing the necessary protection for the displaced and refugees who are fleeing the twin fires of unjust rule and terrorist groups.” Republican frontrunner Trump called on Monday for the ban on Muslims, the most dramatic response yet by any candidate to last week’s shooting spree by two Muslims who the FBI said had been radicalised.
The United Nations refugee agency said such rhetoric was harming its resettlement programme. The International Organization for Migration responded to Trump’s comments by saying any discrimination based on religion went against all international accords on dealing with refugees. Meanwhile, the supreme council of the GCC has asserted its firm stances toward eradicating and fighting terrorism in all its manifestations and pretexts as well as the need to dry out its resources and financing.
The final communique of the 36th GCC summit which concluded here today reaffirmed its commitment to combat the deviant ideologies of the terrorist groups which aim to defame the tolerant image of Islam, saying that coexistence and harmony among nations and peoples are among the principles of the GCC states’ internal and foreign policies. The supreme council also stressed the need to deal seriously with the grave terrorism phenomenon and the terrorist groups and those behind them, praising efforts of the member states in this respect at all international and regional levels. It called on the world community to shoulder its responsibilities in supporting the international center to combat terrorism in New York and coordinate efforts and exchange views in this respect.
The final communique quoted the supreme council as directing the concerned bodies within the framework of the GCC to carry out an organized work by all diplomatic, awareness and media means to highlight the bright and moderate image of Islam and the moderate approach of the GCC states, as well as to exploit the social media outlets for the service of this matter and for the convening of conferences, meetings and seminars. The council strongly denounced the terrorist attacks that targeted a number of mosques in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia which left many innocent people killed and wounded, in addition to the attacks that took place in Bahrain which left scores of innocent people killed and injured.
The council also praised efforts that were exerted by the security authorities to foil the attempt to smuggle a large quantities of explosives coming from Iran into Bahrain. It expressed the supportive stance of the GCC towards the security and safety of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in order to protect their nationals and expatriates, expressing confidence in the ability of the concerned security bodies in dealing with such activities. The supreme council also reiterated continuation of the GCC states to take part in the international coalition to fight the so-called terrorist Islamic State or DAESH, as well as supporting all efforts exerted regionally and internationally to fight such terrorist groups and eradicate their evil ideologies. It called for coordinating all efforts for the sake of confronting the challenges facing the region and the world.
Denounced
The final communique of the 36th GCC summit which concluded here on Thursday stated that the GCC leaders have endorsed decision of the joint supreme defense council at its 14th session concerning the joint military action, topped by the ongoing steps to activate the unified military command and designated the its needed budget and human resources as well as to benefit from the retired military personnel from the GCC states.
It said the leaders also welcomed the accomplishments made so far on the establishment of the unified military command and called for speeding up the needed measures for its activation. It added that the supreme council also endorsed decisions of the GCC interior ministers at their 34th session in Qatar last November and expressed satisfaction for what has so far been achieved in the security domain. The supreme council praised the signing of an agreement on the establishment of the GCC police headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
The final communique of the 36th GCC summit looked into the final developments on the consultations concerning the proposal of the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to shift from the stage of cooperation to union. In the final communiqe, the ministerial council directed for the continuation of consultations and studies with the participation of President of the concerned body according to the supreme council’s decision at its 33rd session that was held in Bahrain in December 2012. The final communique also stressed the GCC states’ supportive stance with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to host EXPO 2010, wishing the country all the best.
It also expressed its support to Qatar in hosting the world cup in 2020, wishing it all the best. It said that the supreme council reviewed recommendations and reports of the follow-up committees submitted by the ministerial council and expressed its appreciation to the sfforts to foster the joint GCC action especially those pertinent to the GCC citizenship for the sake of achieving more integration. It also discussed the latest regional and international developments in light of the current conditions in the world. It added that the supreme council has assigned the GCC Secretariat to carry out awareness campaigns in the GCC states through the various media outlets.
The final communique said that the leaders discussed the march of the joint developmental and economic march for the sake of achieving the full economic integration, assigning the GCC Secretariat to form a committee of experts and intellectuals from the GCC citizens to come up with proposals to reach the sought objective while taking into account the needs of the sustainable developments. The supreme council has also assigned the Secretariat to continue arranging periodical consultative meetings between the trade cooperation committee and heads of the GCC chambers.
The Riyadh Declaration of the 36th GCC summit on Thursday reviewed the march of the joint GCC action as well as the political, social and economic changes facing the world and their direct impacts on the GCC states. Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr Abdullatif Al-Zayani said that it is now time to redouble efforts to continue the significant steps that were initiated by the council since its inception towards integration and communications among its states and peoples as well as to raise the status of the council at the regional and international arena to achieve the sought objectives. The declaration added that the wise perspectives of the Custodian of the Two Mosques concerning consolidation of integration among the GCC states agreed upon by the GCC leaders in this summit was among the top priorities of the joint GCC action for the next round. It said that the after 13 years since the establishment of the customs union of the GCC states in January 2003, which was a significant step in the history of the council, it is now more critical to end the transitional phase in 2016 as the leaders have agreed on the completion of the what has remained of that matter.
It added that after seven years since the establishment of the GCC common market based on total equality in treatment of all GCC nationals in all economic spheres, it has been agreed to complete steps of implementation of the market, and to make things easy, it has also been agreed on the formation of the judicial authority which has become a pressing issue where the GCC leaders are keen on finishing that up by next year