The silence of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and the non-announcement of the results of the meetings held by the committees debating the move from the stage of cooperation to that of union are puzzling and surprising. Indeed, there is an official insistence on imposing a blackout over the relevant information, as though the issue did not concern the Gulf citizens. None among the officials wants to talk, and everyone is opting for silence and evading the answers. The Gulf journalists are pleading for any piece of information to come out from the mouths of the foreign ministers, as though the latter want the journalists to beg for facts that are actually the right of each and every Gulf citizen. A little over a month ago, I spoke on the phone with a Gulf official about the results reached by the committees in regard to the union. Before hanging up, he said to me: “All that was said is not for publication and for your ears only." At that point, he stripped me of my journalistic moment, adding that a journalist was all about published and uncensored information, for had this not been the case, journalists would know more than what they put on paper. And a few days ago, I spoke to another Gulf official, cornering him with a few questions. I felt he was trying to evade me, but was being cooperative out of courtesy. Before we hung up, he reiterated the same expression as the first official, saying: “Brother Jameel, please remember that this conversation is not for publication and for your ears only." I had intended to publish the information I had in a news report in this paper. But then I reassessed my position, and in order not to hold my newspaper responsible for the publication of such information which someone might deny despite its veracity, I preferred to publish it in my weekly editorial to inform the readers about it, knowing it could change based on the moods of the governments and the shape of the relations. Last week, GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif Zayani visited the Council member states' leaders in Abu Dhabi, Manama, Muscat, Doha and Kuwait to inform them about the preparations for the 15th consultative summit of the GCC states leaders in Jeddah. In reality, the consultative summit is held without an agenda, but Al-Zayani informed the leaders about the preparations, putting forward Riyadh's request to adjourn the summit until July after it was supposed to be held in June. The consultative summit is expected to focus on security in the Gulf, the relations with Iran and the situation in Syria, while quickly going over the results of the committees' meetings in regard to the transition to the Gulf Union stage. Was this Gulf Union project obstructed?! So far, 17 months have gone by since the Saudi monarch called on the GCC leaders to move from the cooperation phase to the union phase and to come together in one entity. But there are still political consultations, legal debates and ongoing differences, while some states have not yet made up their mind. This is happening at a time when Article 4 of the basic statute of the Cooperation Council (which was founded in 1981) features an important goal, i.e. “To effect coordination, integration and inter-connection between Member States in all fields in order to achieve unity between them. To deepen and strengthen relations, links and areas of cooperation now prevailing between their peoples in various fields." As I have learned, the preparations for the special Gulf summit will be made later on during a summit that will be held in Riyadh, and will solely focus on the union issue after reaching an agreement over a specific date. According to the sources, it is unlikely that the next consultative summit will turn into one to discuss the union issue! Also according to the sources, three Gulf states have endorsed the Gulf Union idea since the beginning, namely Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. They indicated that another state which they did not name was still showing patience and had not yet made up its mind, although it does not reject the idea of a union (and this appears to be the United Arab Emirates). The sources continued that Kuwait's position had changed, that it was now standing in the middle and wanted union more than ever before, revealing that Qatar was supportive of the idea, and Bahrain even more, but that the Sultanate of Oman was refusing to join the Gulf Union. They assured at this level that Muscat believed that all the stages of cooperation should be fulfilled between the GCC states before turning into a Union. The sources also pointed to the existence of consultations, questions and justifications among some Gulf states, which is creating divergences affecting the visions and viewpoints. They stressed nonetheless that despite that, the situation was not so bad. Hence, the sources did not conceal their optimism although they recognized the existence of such divergences, indicating there was consensus at the level of the fateful issues, the size of the foreign and internal challenges and the necessity of proceeding towards the proclamation of a Gulf confederate union in which each state would enjoy its sovereignty and independence. There are 45.9 million people in the Gulf states with a domestic product amounting to $1.37 trillion. The youth constitute around 65% of the population, their dreams are still caged, and they are still waiting for half-opportunities. Hence, the Gulf states should rush to face the foreign challenges and the rolling snowball by immunizing the internal arena under the umbrella of confederate union, in parallel to the launching of real reform packages - and not just ones for media consumption – and the implementation of bold national projects that would enhance the building of states of institutions and the law, encourage popular participation, instate social justice and unleash freedoms.
