Qatari PM plans to shutdown AlJazeera?

This weekend the recently appointed Prime Minister (and Foreign Minister) of Qatar told a local Qatari TV station that he would throw a party when AlJazeera was shutdown. He said:

“As a foreign minister, Al Jazeera causes me a daily headache. I would give a party on the day when it is shut down,” he said in a lighter vein, while noting that an official had offered to pay $5bn for the closure of the channel several years ago.

While this was said in jest, every serious journalist knows that Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers choose their words very carefully and don't just "joke" about stifling the press (let alone shutting down a national institution). Many see this as a veiled threat against AlJazeera - rumour has it that the PM/FM has always been antagonistic torwards the Channel (which is ultimately under the patronage of the Emir of Qatar).

The closing down (or even reining in) of AlJazeera would be a travesty for freedom of the press, free speech and democratic values of the region. It would also be the biggest PR mistake that Qatar could make. It is currently known as progressive and principled. God knows what the world would think if it stifled one of the most important globak journalistic institutions over a couple of barrels of oils and a few unhappy diplomats.