Doha: Qatar’s Government Communications Office has issued a statement regarding the detention of the BBC television crew.
It says the government organised earlier this month a press tour for reporters from the UK, Europe and the region to provide a better understanding of challenges Qatar is facing and progress it is making on the issue of migrant labour.
The office invited a dozen reporters to see first-hand some sub-standard labour accommodations and some new labour villages.
“We gave the reporters free rein to interview whomsoever they chose and roam unaccompanied in the labour villages,” the statement says.
“We arranged a roundtable discussion and one-on-one interviews with the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, the Secretary- General of the Supreme Committee for Legacy and Delivery and the Director of Workers Welfare at Qatar Foundation.
“Perhaps anticipating that the government would not provide this sort of access, the BBC crew decided to do their own site visits and interviews in the days leading up to the tour.
“In doing so, they trespassed on private property, which is against the law in Qatar as it is in most countries. After an official complaint from the owner, security forces were called and the BBC crew was detained. The crew was brought before a public prosecutor who released them after the completion of legal procedures.”
The statement said the journalists who took part in the tour were given an opportunity for a comprehensive look at problems Qatar is facing and progress the government and the private sector are making to address them. They saw some labour villages. The BBC was meant to be part of that tour, and would have been if they had not chosen to break Qatari laws.
“Once the BBC reporter and his crew were released from detention, we tried to help them get the basic elements for the story they had missed. While the full programme could not be duplicated, a separate one-on-one interview with the Minister was arranged and they were able to tour a modern labour village.
“We hope it is clear from this detailed account that the problems the BBC reporter and his crew experienced could have been avoided if they had chosen to join other journalists on the tour. They would have been able to visit – in broad daylight – the camps they tried to break into at night.
“Reporters from the Associated Press, AFP, the Guardian and Le Monde have filed stories on what they saw and heard in Qatar, and we invite interested readers to review their reports, which are available online.
“By trespassing on private property and running afoul of Qatari laws, the BBC reporter made himself the story. We hope that this was not his intention.
“We deeply regret that he was unable to report the real story, which is that the government and the private sector are making significant progress in efforts to improve the lives and the labour conditions of guest workers in Qatar,” the statement adds.
QNA
