Qatar hands over ICAO a letter on Blockade Countries’ TV Channels Violations
Share on
Montreal – Canada - Doha
Qatar’s permanent office to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada, handed over an official letter from the State of Qatar to the ICAO’s Secretary General, the Chairman of the Council of the Organization and representatives of the Member States of the Council of the Organization on the blockade countries’ violation through their TV satellite channels in order to intimidate and horrify travelers.
The official letter referred to the news report broadcasted by Al Arabiya TV Channel, a Saudi-owned pan-Arab television news channel based in Dubai, UAE, on last Wednesday ( 9 August,2017) on what it called the "right" of the blockade countries to blast a Qatari passenger jet plane (Qatar Airways) in case it flew over its airspaces. This report constituted a clear and serious violation of international conventions and agreements, notably the 1944 Chicago Convention, the International Air Traffic Service (IASTA) and the International Air Law.
In the Al-Arabiya three-dimensional video, the voiceover commentary said that 'according to international law, a state has the right to 'bring down any plane entering its atmosphere which is identified as an enemy target, especially in military bases, where Air Defense is unrestrained'. In this piece of footage, the report show a shot of a missile was shown being fired towards a Qatari A-350 passenger plane.
The video also said that 'according to international law, a state that bans flights from entering its airspace has the right to deal with the violating plane in any way it wishes', showing the choices the blockading countries could do if their airspace is breached.
Among the choices, according to the video, they can either dispatch a fighter plane to force the plane to land. 'After which, its members may be prosecuted for several crimes, such as breaching national security and exposing civilians to danger,' the video said.
The video that has been widely circulated in the international media as well as in the social media, was widely condemned by legal experts and specialists in the field of civil aviation in the world.
The State of Qatar, through its representative in ICAO, Mr. Issa Abdullah Al-Malki, requested the ICAO to take the necessary measures to remind all States in the Organization of their obligations to the security and safety of aviation under international law and international norms.