A concern for all Emiratis: Abu Musa’s occupation

"As an Emirati, it is normal that I should be more sensitive about an occupied part of the UAE than other Arab territories. Otherwise, one would be fooling himself,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Foreign Minister of the UAE, during a question-and-answer session of the Federal National Council referring to the Lesser and Greater Tunbs and Abu Musa.

Emiratis know little about these islands that were occupied by Iran in the short window of time between the British withdrawal from the Trucial Coast emirates on November 30, 1971 and the declaration of the United Arab Emirates on December 2. The day after the invasion Iraq, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen lodged an official complaint on behalf of the Arab countries regarding Iran’s occupation. Abdullah, an 80-year-old Emirati who was born and brought up on Abu Musa, told me that the Sharjah government sought assistance from Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser but he dismissed the matter. The occupation hasn’t received much international publicity since.

Abu Musa is today the only inhabited island among the three and the plight of our compatriots must be highlighted to nationals, expatriates and the international community. Abu Musa isn’t a desolate piece of land.

“I was born there. I was there in December 1971. I remember those days when the Iranian forces arrived,” said Ahmed, an Emirati in his 50s. “I studied in Abu Musa in a mixed school.”

Because of the occupation forces’ policy of discouraging children from attending the school that Ahmed attended, it enrols 150 students today. In the 1970s, it had as many as 400 pupils.

A boat named Abu Musa leaves Sharjah daily for the island. I see it everyday as I drive to work. But Ahmed told me that in the past two decades the Iranian occupation forces have been turning away young visitors, allowing only the elderly to visit. “They want us to forget about it,” said Ahmed.

For too long the issue did not receive the public and media attention that it deserved. So it is fascinating to see that when a dynamic personality like Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed speaks frankly about the matter, calling Iran’s continuous occupation of the islands “shameful” and comparing it with Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, the UAE media and public quickly adopt the cause. On Thursday, the matter dominated the television, newspaper and radio scene in the UAE.

Emiratis are appalled by the harassment their compatriots on Abu Musa face from the Iranian occupiers, whose policy is geared towards encouraging them to leave once and for all. There is only one clinic there, one small supermarket, one telephone exchange and one school. Like Israel’s abhorrent ban on importing building equipment into Gaza, the residents of Abu Musa aren’t allowed to trade freely and import the necessary materials for maintenance and construction.

And while Jerusalem is a Pan-Islamic issue and Palestine a PanArab concern, the occupied islands are a Pan-Emirati cause. Abu Musa is our Jerusalem, and without a resolution, relations between the Iranian government and the UAE will always be strained.

Moving forward, the UAE could draw a lesson from the superb awareness campaign launched to promote the island of Bu Tina as part of the New Seven Wonders of Nature competition. Within a few months the beautiful crescent shaped island jumped from number 28 to number 11 as a result of a well-organised media campaign. The same modern methods could be used to promote awareness about the Iranian occupation of the three islands.

Emiratis also appreciate the peaceful policy that the UAE adopts towards our Iranian neighbours, repeatedly asking Iran’s government to reach a solution either through direct dialogue or international arbitration. Sadly, the Iranian side continues to drag its feet.

The issue of the occupied islands must be taught in schools, discussed in majlises, and featured on all UAE government and embassy websites. We must continue to urge the Iranian government to end this unlawful and unjust occupation by peaceful means.

Do your best to educate yourself and others about this just cause. Do it because it’s right. But as Sheikh Abdullah explained, there is another reason: we should be sensitive to it because we are Emiratis.

*This article first appeared in The National on Sunday 25th April 2010

No rest for Sheikh Abdullah in a whirlwind year

Although the UAE has registered several achievements over the past 12 months such as the hosting of the Formula One race and the opening of the Dubai Metro, it is possible that what has happened outside of our borders has had a greater impact. And one individual is responsible for what will be seen in the future as the most important year in the UAE’s foreign relations to date.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE’s young foreign minister, started the year with visits to Syria to meet President Bashar Al Assad, to Kuwait for the Arab Economic Summit and to Egypt to meet that country’s president, Hosni Mubarak. Then he was on to the US to sign the US-UAE nuclear agreement, to Bonn to speak at the founding summit of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and to Berlin where the UAE offered to jointly fund an Afghan airport.

In February, Sheikh Abdullah visited Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on a regional tour. He also hosted the foreign ministers of the above states as well as those from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Yemen and Palestine to discuss issues relating to the Palestinian territories. He then headed a delegation that included UAE businessmen to Minsk, Belarus.

In March, Sheikh Abdullah headed the UAE delegation to the Arab-South America Summit in Doha after accompanying the President Sheikh Khalifa to the Arab summit in the same location. He also visited Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon, where the UAE financed a major mine-clearing operation. He held bilateral talks in Egypt with the US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton. And in the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah hosted the foreign ministers of Australia and Iran.

In April, Sheikh Abdullah embarked on an unprecedented African tour of Niger, Mali, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Gambia, Nigeria, Chad and Burkina Faso. He then visited Japan for the Pakistan donors’ conference where the UAE pledged $300 million to assist that country.

In May, Sheikh Abdullah’s African tour continued with visits to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Central African Republic, Morocco, Liberia, as well as Spain, Lithuania, Finland, Portugal and Lebanon. The foreign minister then appointed four senior aides with political, economic, legal and special affairs portfolios as part of his ministry’s restructuring aimed at “meeting the UAE’s growing foreign relations commitments and interests”. Also in May, Sheikh Abdullah reached an agreement with the French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner to allow Emirati diplomats to be stationed in French embassies in countries, such as many in Africa, where the UAE lacks a diplomatic mission.

In June, Sheikh Abdullah went on an extensive diplomatic and economic tour including South Korea, Brunei, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives as well as visits to Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Macedonia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Cameroon, Libya, and South Africa.

June was a good month for Sheikh Abdullah and his team as their efforts to win international support for the UAE to host Irena succeeded when the UAE was awarded the honour in a meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, beating two major European contenders, Bonn and Vienna.

Despite that achievement Sheikh Abdullah didn’t rest. He continued travelling – to Pakistan and then to Azerbaijan in July. In August, Sheikh Abdullah accompanied Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, on a trip to China. In September, the UAE foreign minister met with his GCC counterparts as well as ministers from Russia and a host of other nations. Sheikh Abdullah addressed the UN General Assembly and highlighted the strategy behind the UAE’s foreign policy. He also joined Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince to meet the US president Barack Obama in Washington.

In October, Sheikh Abdullah travelled to meet the president of Mexico, Philippe Calderón, and then to Cuba, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic. Sheikh Abdullah then hosted the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Abu Dhabi for bilateral talks.

In November, Sheikh Abdullah took part in the Forum for the Future meeting in Morocco and then accompanied Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, the UAE’s prime minister, on a visit to Britain to meet Gordon Brown before visiting the UAE forces in Afghanistan. This December, Sheikh Abdullah flew to Bahrain for the Manama Dialogue conference and Kuwait for a summit of GCC heads of state as well as meeting the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Sheikh Abdullah also makes it a point to meet the various Arab ambassadors in the states he visits, which reflects the UAE’s balanced pan-Arab foreign policy. Sheikh Abdullah managed to do all this as well as attend the UAE cabinet meetings and host diplomatic guests to the country. Sheikh Abdullah has been supported by a team as diverse and professional as Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, Reem Ibrahim al Hashimi, the UAE Minister of State, Dr Sultan Al-Jaber, the CEO of the Masdar Initiative and Khalid Al Ghaith, the Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs.

Without a doubt the most travelled foreign minister in this young nation’s history, he has set standards that are very tough to follow. Sheikh Abdullah’s youth may have played a part in his relentless efforts to see his country prosper and be represented in the best possible manner. It is clear his determination is what sets him apart and why I believe 2009 is the year of Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed.

*This article first appeared in The National on Sunday 20th December 2009