“Systematic racism”: Qatar shoots at critics and is looking forward to “the best World Cup ever”
Created: 11/16/2022, 10:45 am
By: Corbinian Kothny
Qatar goes into attack mode when criticizing the World Cup.
Labor Minister Al Marri speaks before the EU Parliament of systematic racism.
Munich –
There are only a few days left until the World Cup in Qatar.
But even four days before the hosts' opening game against Ecuador, the criticism of the organizers continues.
Qatari Labor Minister Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri now shoots back during a speech in the European Parliament.
Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri |
Born: November 30, 1972 (49 years old) |
Qatari Labor Minister |
Before: Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee for Qatar |
Criticism of World Cup in Qatar: Al Marri speaks of systematic racism
"I strongly reject hate speech and systematic racism against the Qatari people," Al Marri said in his speech.
The Minister of Labor referred to "constant negative reports" reaching Qatar from abroad.
As an example, he cited the allegation that Qatar bought fans for positive coverage.
Al Marri also has a clear opinion on the estimates of how many guest workers died before the World Cup: "These are statistics that have been circulated and lack accuracy, credibility and integrity and have not been officially confirmed."
Ali bin Samikh al-Marri addresses the European Parliament.
© IMAGO/Nicolas Landemard / Le Pictorium
Dead in Qatar: Al Marri rejects reports
Amnesty International had reported over 15,000 deaths in a 2021 report.
The number 6,500 from an article in the British newspaper “The Guardian” from early 2021 is also frequently mentioned. Al Marri vehemently rejects these numbers.
"Every day we hear a new slander about the number of dead migrant workers, as if we were at a public auction," the Qatari said in Brussels, pointing out that the figures are inaccurate.
According to the Qatari government, between 2014 and 2020 there were 37 deaths among workers directly related to the construction of the World Cup stadiums, three of which were "work-related".
At least $350 million in compensation was also paid to the workers, according to Al Marri.
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World Cup in Qatar: host defends and goes into attack mode
In general, Qatar seems to go into attack mode a few days before the World Cup.
The Foreign Minister of the Emirate Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused German politicians of
double standards in the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung .
"On the one hand, the German population is misinformed by government politicians, on the other hand, the government has no problem with us when it comes to energy partnerships or investments," said Al Thani.
He described the criticism from Europe of the situation in Qatar as "very arrogant and racist".
These are the players' wives of the DFB stars at the 2022 World Cup
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Due to human rights violations in Qatar, there were repeated calls for a boycott in Germany as well.
Al Marri can't understand this: "Has a World Cup ever been boycotted before that?
Everyone is welcome in Qatar to attend the games.
I assure you that the World Cup in Qatar will be the best ever." (kk)
