Qatari Ambassador Quits Syria
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Qatar's ambassador to Damascus, Zayed al-Khayarine, has quit Syria and the embassy has suspended its work, an official from the Qatari delegation told Agence France Presse on Monday.
"The diplomats have left Syria and work has been suspended until further notice," the official said, declining to be identified.
He refused to specify the date of the ambassador's departure nor his reasons for leaving.
Qatar had long enjoyed cordial relations with Damascus but recently al-Jazeera, the Doha-based pan-Arab satellite news channel, has come under strong criticism by the Syrian authorities for its coverage of the popular revolt against President Bashar Assad's regime that erupted in mid-March.
Damascus deems al-Jazeera to be exaggerating the protest movement.
In late April nearly 100 people gathered outside al-Jazeera's Damascus offices, accusing the channel of "lies" and of "exaggeration" in its coverage of the protests.
Official Syrian media regularly accuse foreign news services of using fabricated images and of not verifying their sources in their coverage of the uprising.
18 July 2011, 16:53
12
It looks like civil war to me, the ambassador is getting out so will others before heII breaks loose . . .
18 July 2011, 17:47
02
كما وصف المرشد الإيراني الأعلى علي خامنئي الاحتجاجات في سوريا بنسخة مزيفة للثورات العربية من صنع الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
However, the uprising in Bahrain is not made in Iran....?
18 July 2011, 17:54
51
Al Jazeera used to be a distinctive and a very fair voice in a region filled with media outlets that spewed propaganda and insignificant news that ill-served the people and the region's rightful causes. But now Al Jazeera became one of them. For instance, Al Jazeera never once focused on Bahrain or the misery of the Bahraini people, or Saudi Arabia and the Saudi people, but instead became a cohort of the brutal and oppressive Bahraini regime and that of Saudi Arabia. So who needs Al Jazeera when it becomes a copy of Al Hurra or Al Arabiya? There are reports that Qatar came under pressure, and some even say threats against its ruling family, by the US in order to play along or go play elsewhere. What a shame! Al Jazeera lost the respect of a majority of its viewers, and Qatar let down the people of the region. As we say in Arabic: inkasarat al jarra
18 July 2011, 18:55
00
Thats only the beginning of the end. More embassies are going to follow .
The collapse of an old tyrant regime is on the way.
The syrian people are finally going to be free .
18 July 2011, 19:02
00
@Farandole: You have no idea what you are talking about. Al Jazeera covered the protests in Bahrain very closely every day that they happened just like they have done with all the Arab revolutions.
They also covered the Egyotian revolution better than any other media and they are covering Yemen, both of those governments are allies of the US and Saudi Arabia so if Al Jazeera is American propaganda why would they do that? They haven't lost credibility, the Assad dictatorship has just like Mubarak and Qaddafi and Saleh before him, the majority of the people do not want murderers and criminals as leaders and they want democracy.
18 July 2011, 19:43
02
@Farandole,
If only look at the fact that no media neither journalists nor TVs are allowed into Syria to cover what's happening, means that the regime is trying to cover up what they're doing.
I don't think I ever respected al Jazeera, but it's role (and other TVs) in the Egyptian and Tunisian revolution was not bad.
In the Syrian revolution, and given the ban on journalist, it is outstanding. The only media that did even a better job is BBC, their journalists either crossed illegally or claimed to be tourists, and the documents they brought back are horrendous. You can check BBC website for details.
But above all the Syrian people are documenting themselves their own revolution, risking their lives doing the revolution and documenting it. You can see it online, on the internet, using the most advanced technology and concepts. And the Regime is outdated and archaic, and will fall. And this is coming very soon.
18 July 2011, 20:05
20
Charbel, I agree with lots of the things u say but BBC??? no trust in BBC manipulations and what they say; u need to visit the following pages:
http://www.propagandamatrix.com/articles/june2009/061809_iran_propaganda.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2009/06/what_really_happened.html
AlJazera was great on Tunis and Egypt, lousy on Libya and Bahrain and not so good in Syria (it serves its master interest i.e. country policy)
18 July 2011, 20:25
01
To readers critical of the "new" vs. the "old" Jazeera:
Your only reason for criticizing Al Jazeera is that you want it to always tell you what you want to hear. Al Jazeera was fine when it was catering to your preferences, but as soon as you thought that it had strayed, you became critical. It's time to re-evaluate your one-sided politics and to let the media play its role. The media cannot always concur with your opinions. If it does agree with you all the time, it is playing politics, not reporting the news.
18 July 2011, 20:58
11
Tarator.. this is exactly the point, AlJazeera always agrees with its owner view.. which happens to be Qatar dictator.. no?
Thus, I agree 100% with your statement which basically says AlJazeera is playing politics and not the news.
BTW, Aljazeera and AlManar had the same lousy coverage on Libya... which means that Qatar and HA both hate Kadhafi even if they have to support NATO intervention on an Arab country by spreading lies... but this is another story!
18 July 2011, 22:20
00
@ mabboud, WOW that's the first time I "half" agree with you. maybe we'll agree more in the future...long live Lebanon.
