DOHA, Nov 7: A military officer shot dead a Qatari who opened fire at a major US air base near Doha on Wednesday, two days before a major WTO meeting here, the interior ministry announced.
“A Qatari national opened fire at 10.30am (12.30pm PST) at the Al-Adid air base and a guard fired back, killing the attacker on the spot,” a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the official QNA news agency.
“An inquiry has been launched to determine the motives of the attacker,” it added. The dead man was named as Abdullah Mubarak al-Hajri.
The attack on the base, 35 kilometres southwest of Doha, came two days before Friday’s opening of a ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization.
The base is the biggest used by the United States to stock munitions and material in the Gulf.
Organizers considered moving the venue of the WTO meeting over security fears in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks on the United States and the war on Afghanistan.
The United States decided to limit the size of its team in Qatar for security reasons, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said.
“I am trying to keep my staff as small as possible for their safety,” the US trade chief said.
Trade ministers had considered moving the WTO meeting to Mexico City or Singapore, because of the risk of reprisals for the US bombing of Afghanistan. But WTO officials last week said they were determined to meet from Nov 9 to 13 in Doha, as planned.
The WTO conference gathers some 4,500 people, including 2,000 government delegates, 700 journalists and representatives of 600 non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The small Gulf emirate has only a few thousand policemen and 12,000 troops, but pledged to manage security with its own resources.
“Security will be 100 per cent Qatari,” organizing committee spokesman Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed al-Thani said last month.
Since the Sept 11 attacks in the United States, an American and another foreigner died in a bomb in the Saudi city of Khobar, protesters tore up and stamped on the US flag in Bahrain and Omani students marched against the war on the Taliban.
But Qatar had remained calm, even though anti-American sentiment is heard on the streets and particularly in the mosques.
AL FOR OSAMA’S FAIR TRIAL: The head of the Arab League called on Wednesday for Osama bin Laden to be given a fair trial if he is caught.
Amr Mussa also reiterated demands for greater US involvement in the Middle East peace process, blaming Washington for deepening tensions between Muslims and America.
“This campaign will end as soon as possible so that the Afghan people will be spared any further rigours in these circumstances,” Mussa told journalists in London.
Osama should then face court. “He should have a fair trial.”
Asked whether he supported US military action, he added: “It is immaterial whether we support or do not support — we understand America’s predicament.
“The deep disagreement is about the direction of the policy towards Israel and of America’s apparent alignment with Israel, which has angered Arabs and Muslims in the world.
“The mainstream of Arab people cannot support any policy of destruction or killing of innocent people. This is only normal.”
Mussa said Arabs would not be “duped” by the resumption of the Middle East peace process.
“A process for the sake of a process will lead nowhere.
“All the proposals for a just solution are there. It should not take a long time. As long as there is foreign military occupation (by Israel), there will be resistance.”
Mussa said there were only a small number of people who, due to frustration, supported extremist ideas.
He went on: “But the prevailing feeling is frustration and anger because of the very biased and unfair policy vis-a-vis the Arab-Israeli conflict.” —AFP
