October 1, 2002	Tuesday	Rajab 23, 1423

RIYADH, Sept 30: Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Qatar in a spiralling dispute apparently sparked by accusations against the kingdom on the Doha-based Al-Jazeera satellite television station.

A terse statement, carried by the official SPA news agency on Sunday night, announced that ambassador Hamad al-Tuaimi had been recalled from Doha for “consultations”.

This is the first time the kingdom has publicly announced the summoning home of an envoy posted in a fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state.

Apart from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Tensions surfaced between Doha and Riyadh in recent months after Al-Jazeera aired programmes deemed offensive to Saudi Arabia.

The row between the Gulf neighbours was ostensibly triggered by a June 25 live debate on Al-Jazeera in which participants criticized Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah’s Middle East peace initiative, accused Saudi Arabia of having “betrayed the Palestinian cause”, and made disparaging remarks about the kingdom’s founder.

“Saudi officials and ordinary citizens alike were angered by the hostility to the kingdom’s founder, King Abdul Aziz al-Saud, that transpired from that debate,” a Saudi official said on Monday.

Qatari leaders use Al-Jazeera “to score political and personal gains at the expense of Gulf and other Arab states”, he charged.—AFP