'Arab spring' is not spring but 'autumn': Dahi

Dubai’s Police Chief, one of the most outspoken officials in the region, has warned in press comments that political upheaval sweeping the Middle East could be intended to partition the Arab countries, adding that this means the so-called Arab spring is actually an Arab autumn. 

Lt General Dahi Khalfan Tamim said he feared that external powers are behind the turmoil and wondered whether Gulf oil producers would be the next target. 

In a lengthy interview with the Kuwaiti Arabic language newspaper Al Nahar, the police commander also said the strained ties between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbours pose a threat to the region’s security and stressed that stability could be achieved in case the two sides mend fences. 

“I regret to say that what is dubbed as the Arab spring is not spring but autumn…look at the Egyptian people…they are now starving and have no jobs….the country’s economy is in totters and could collapse any time…is this spring?.....I doubt it and some people would ask why?....in my modest opinion is that Arab do not make history but they are on the margin of history.” 

Tamim said Arabs had been “dragged” into the Afghan war and other conflicts and that they discovered later that it was a political game. 

“Today we are moving inside a sphere and have no idea of what is going on around us…I fear that it could be a new Sykes Picot for the region,” he said, referring to the 1916 agreement between France, Britain and other colonial powers to divide the region and define their respective spheres of influence. 

“Look how Iraq has been struck and fragmented into north, centre and south…Iraq, in this form, will never be able to deal with a potential enemy……Syria could also be divided and Egypt is controlled through international agreements,” he added. 

“And I wonder whether the next move, God forbids, will target a Gulf country…we can already see that there are attempts to create chaos in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations…only God knows…here I ask again, is this a spring?...in my opinion, changes in the Arab regimes could have been possible without the need to indulge in these massacres and devastations….this is the best way.”

Tamim was asked whether the present unrest in the region would lead to the partition and weakening of other Arab states. 

“What I am saying is that it will not be an Arab spring at all…let’s be realistic…Gulf countries will never be on good terms with the Moslem brotherhood (fundamentalists) as governments…according to my long experience in this field, those fundamentalists do not want the Gulf regimes in their present forms….they have made this clear and I believe what they are hiding in their hearts is far worse that what they are saying in public…they might be angry with me but this is the reality,” he said. 

Turning to Iran, Tamim said he believes Tehran should mend fences with its Gulf neighbours and should “not look at us as its adversaries but vice versa.” 

He said Iran can tackle all existing problems with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including its island dispute with the UAE, adding that the dispute would be quickly resolved if Tehran accepts international arbitration. 

“Sometimes, we see an Iranian official come out to say that the Gulf belongs to Iran and Bahrain is Iranian…these statements come from some officials who deliberately want to create political storms in the region…but the question is—does this behavior serve the region’s security?....I say that security in the Gulf could be attained only through an accord between the two parties and a relationship based on respect of each other.” 

Replying to a question on whether he expects a war in the Gulf because of US threats against Iran over its nuclear programme, he said such threats could be either real or a means to put pressure on Tehran to force it to negotiate. 

“In any case, I know that the West seeks its own interests….if it finds that its interest is in waging a war on Iran, then it will attack…if it finds that it is not in its interest, then it will not launch a war…its just a matter of conflict of interests.”

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