‘Divisions threaten existence’

‘Govt must do more to forge unity’

“ALL of us agree that both the State and people at the moment face difficult challenges — some of them related to our national security and our very existence at large — because we know that we at the moment are living in a region which is engulfed in turmoil in the midst of conflicting international interests and these have transformed this region into a major conflict zone for capitalist nations where every country strives to protect its economy and at the same time cement political influence in the long run,” columnist

wrote for daily Monday. “Apart from the above, we are facing also difficult developmental challenges which are not confined to the economic aspect in spite of its importance, rather these challenges involve many political and social aspects. If we do not encounter properly these challenges, no sustainable development will be realized.

“But certainly, confronting major difficult challenges and surmounting them will not be achieved under persistence sterile political equations, because such situations consecrate the monopoly of both the politics and wealth, since the popular contribution to the decision-making process has steadily taken a back seat.

“Given the above, we expect the success rate post the next National Assembly elections look dim. In this context, we elucidate some candidates from certain constituencies are likely to win seats to the Parliament although he/she will garner only half a percent of the country’s total votes although it is presumed that based on the text of Constitution, an MP represents the entire nation.

“Apart from the above, we would like to stress that the defect in the social justice will help aggravate the defects in the economic policies which are contained in the government economic document. This is in addition to imposing restrictions of the freedoms and tearing apart the social fabric.

“Moreover, the role of the State has retreated and unfortunately this has coincided with the return of some sort of traditional social forms which prevailed before the birth of the modern State. This is evident through the appearance of a generation of youth in schools and universities who take pride in their tribal, sectarian and clannish belonging at the expense of the nation.

“Not just that, the youth resort to the tribal, sectarian and clannish belonging to obtain their constitutional rights instead of commitment to their national identity and eventually resort to the law and legal institutions to achieve these rights and this reflects the absence of confidence in the State’s laws and institutions.

“Meanwhile, we have observed how the legislative power has been marginalized following the revision of the Election Law making it into just a figurehead to agree to whatever has been suggested by the government and this is exactly what we have seen over the past three years.

“However, once again we say if we persist on the existing political situation, without radical political and democratic reforms to produce a developed political system, and not a figurehead body, we expect our confrontation to the regional and developmental challenges will be weak or rather nil.

“We know the government statements on the issue of confronting the challenges are completely different and the people are aware of this reality.”

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Al-Daihani

“The month of November has special salient features in our modern political history,” columnist

wrote for daily Monday. “On Nov 11, 1961, the late Amir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah received the Kuwaiti Constitution from the authority that was authorized to draw up this document.

“On Nov 16, 2011, the Abdullah Al-Salem Hall of the National Assembly was ‘attacked’ during a demonstration and this incident was the first of its kind in the history of the country. This case is still being looked into by a court.

“Apart from the above, we say our country shall witness new parliamentary elections on Nov 26, 2016 that shall precede the outset of the Fifteenth Legislative Term. On Nov 24, 1965, the Kuwaitis mourned the death of the late Amir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. We pray to Almighty Allah to rest his soul in peace.

“Consequently, I don’t think the Kuwaitis people will forget the above historical events that had been witnessed by the generations of democracy, particularly while the latter casting their ballots in the poll boxes on Nov 26, 2016 for electing the members if the New National Assembly for its Fifteenth Legislative Term.

“Of course, we shall find ourselves before a rare national and political case. This will happen in the midst of mixed political attitudes. Such being the case, we wonder if the parliamentary blocs that had boycotted the parliamentary elections will resume their participation in public interest and Kuwait’s democratic life.

“In other words, the change in the attitude of these blocs will turn a new page on Nov 26, 2016 during the election of the Members to the National Assembly who shall enjoy a renewable vision away from any attempt to create a state of political instability as it had happened prior to the 2013 National Assembly election which was dissolved constitutionally.

“All the above questions currently grip the minds of ‘ordinary’ Kuwaitis who shall cast their ballots on Nov 26, 2016 to elect their representatives to the new National Assembly for the New Legislative Term away from all political agendas which run contrary to the Kuwaiti customs and conventions.”

“It was not fair to say that the dissolved parliament was the one most rejected by the citizens due to its lowlevel performance in the last three years,”

wrote for daily. “The speeches of many of the MPs are being ridiculed on social media. After the parliament was dissolved, people have been enquiring whether the reason behind such a decision was to pacify people who were getting angrier every day or if there were any other unknown reasons.

“To answer this question, we point out the study which stated that if the elections are held constitutionally in the summer of 2017, then two thirds of the MPs will not return to their parliamentary seats. The opposite will happen if the elections are held within two months. Maybe this is the explanation behind reducing the constitutional period from two months to 40 days. The victory of two-thirds of the MPs will guarantee the stability of the office of the parliament, followed by the governmental side. In this manner, all sides can be satisfied by having a parliament and government that will cooperate in perfect harmony. Therefore, the parliament would be dissolved in order to be able to survive with the same performance, same MPs and for four years. This sudden way that gives no opportunity to the opposition to get ready seems deliberate. Moreover, the constitutional reasons behind the dissolution do not seem to match with this parliament because the government had never complained about the parliament’s lack of cooperation. On the contrary, His Highness the Prime Minister used to praise the MPs and appreciate their understanding.

“Concerning the regional circumstances, other precautionary actions are required such as increasing the state emergency level, declaring the martial law as well as not allowing any obstacles in the performance of the parliament.

“In conclusion, we need to say that dissolving such a cooperative parliament implies that the problem is not with the Constitution but with the lack of respect of some people towards it. This is the hidden reason that led to the instability in the political arena of Kuwait since its independence.”

“After reviewing the situation in the region and centers of American interests therein, we can conclude that the United States of America has changed its position as master planner of diplomatic, political and military activities in the Middle East,”

wrote for daily. “The US has become a contributor to creation of the outcome which, in certain cases, does not serve interest of the US administration. This is due to the emergence of powers that are against the US plans. Among numerous pieces of evidence to prove that statement include: The Syrian clash which started in 2011 as the US has not been able to determine decisions on the battlefield due to pretentious revolution by militants such as DAESH, Al-Nusra Front and Freedom Fighters.

“Presence in Iraq is another factor. The US wants to return to Iraq indirectly through the banned groups. It has been trying to fight against DAESH from air, but advanced technology has exposed the rate at which it has been giving logistics support to the same group.

“The leadership vacuum in Lebanon has opened the door for the US administration and other intermediary countries such as France to determine any decision made in Lebanon. The peace process there has been thwarted several times, while it is difficult for the US to twist the decision in favor of where its interest lies.

“The coup d’état in Turkey was due to orders from the US to curb growing influence of the Justice and Development Party on Turkey and that country’s foreign political administration. It wants Turkey to be its affiliate while it cannot take unilateral decision on certain cases, so Turkey rejected this attempt. It becomes more complex considering the fact that Turkey and the US have mutual interests on one hand, while on the other hand, Turkey has mutual interests with Iran.”

“Since the inception of Kuwaiti democracy in 1961, social equality experiment has endured rough and unstable phases from constitutional and unconstitutional dissolution to temporary suspension of the National Assembly and other incidents. Despite the aforementioned events, Kuwait remains a pioneering democracy in the Arab world,” columnist wrote for daily.

“Perhaps, talking about the past is useless, and so we should look forward to the future with optimism and constructive criticism away from personal interests and negativity while addressing issues. A new phase of democracy has started with citizens looking forward to a Parliament that is capable of solving serious issues related to healthcare and hospitals, implementation of suspended projects and the development plan that became an illusion to citizens, and which has left people wondering why the recently dissolved Parliament did not accomplish projects?

“Personally, I think the composition of the dissolved Parliament was the reason, because some of the members only served their own interests or welfare of a few — even though there were hardworking members among them that exerted efforts to serve the country in truth. Judging by its overall performance, the recently dissolved Parliament wasn’t up to the task.”

“Serious and real understanding among all segments of Kuwaitis is the panacea for laying a foundation that can enable the country to reach the promised land,” columnist wrote for daily.

“It behooves us to face the challenges squarely that we attack it with the same level of force with which it attacks us or even step up our attack.

“Doing this will help us attain comfort, build the country the way we desire and move along our path according to the right principles and a solid ground where we will not slip or get entangled in interwoven deflection that can distract us from desired objectives.

“The country needs us so that we can stand as a single entity in facing challenges. The Amiri Decree issued in Kuwait last Saturday to dissolve the National Assembly after an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet held at the Bayan Palace, prompted me to make the above statement.

“The ball now is in the court of citizens who will elect the new lawmakers to represent them and speak on their behalf in a matter of days.”

“The worst among wars in the world is the civil war as this happens within the nation and among its own social fabric. It is then up to us to learn from the experience of Lebanon which engaged in civil war for about 15 years, leaving behind massive deaths, displacement and destruction,” columnist wrote for daily.

“The Lebanese civil war is considered the worst in the Arab and Third worlds. It ended with Taif Convention but its leaders seem to be refusing to learn from the war that reached its peak when Lebanese factions started to fight with the Palestinian faction. It resulted in many undocumented atrocities in the hands of Lebanese forces.

“Lebanese political factions and the people of Lebanon seem to be oblivious to the devastation caused by civil war, thus, they have been in a difficult situation of not having a president for quite some time.

“It is necessary for Lebanese politicians to learn from their country’s past in order to avoid returning to the spiral of war. Other political and military groups should also benefit from the experiences of countries.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb