‘Al Jazeera was involved in Bahrain events’

Riyadh : A former television anchorman with Al Jazeera said that the Qatari channel was involved in the dramatic incidents that unfolded in Bahrain.

Bassam Al Qadiri told Saudi newspaper Okaz that inciting against Arab rulers was among the priorities of the Qatari channel, stressing that it was involved in the events in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. It also had desperate attempts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and Kuwait, Okaz reported yesterday.

Al Jazeera since it was launched 20 years ago has been targeting Bahrain and supporting terrorists and sectarian groups and has interfered in the domestic affairs of the kingdom through distorting facts and disseminating sectarian-tainted reports.

An analysis of the reports posted by Al Jazeera online from 2011 until mid-2017 shows there were 985 reports on Bahrain that included 889 reports (90.2 per cent of the total number) supporting sectarian groups and terrorists or highlighting their activities.

In 2011 when the deplorable events unfolded in Bahrain, Al Jazeera posted 399 reports that included 361 reports covering activities and news of the sectarian groups and terrorists. The rate of negative reports was 90.4 per cent.

Addressing the Arab League in Cairo on Wednesday, Information Minister Ali Al Romaihi said that Bahrain had suffered the most from the hostile and antagonistic onslaughts by Al Jazeera in a blatant breach of all principles.

The systematic approach by Al Jazeera was to undermine security and stability, tear up at the social fabric, erode national unity, target the national identity, distort facts, disseminate fake news and allegations and promote criminal groups, he said.