‘Citizenship crises to linger’

‘Amir move helps cool situation’

“HH the Amir, recently ended the so-called ‘Nationality Crisis’ in a unique Kuwaiti way,” columnist, former head of the Kuwaiti delegation to the United Nations, former Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Incumbent Chairman of The Diplomatic Centre for the Strategic Studies wrote for daily.

“In this context, I would like to elucidate that I think this manner was never applied anywhere in the world — the manner on the authority of a committee comprising Speaker of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister to find a solution to the complex nationality issue — the issue which had given rise to tensions and confrontations following pledges given by some current MPs during canvassing for parliamentary elections to solve the problem.

“In other words, those who won the seat to Parliament did not hesitate to transform this into a national issue and finally put cracks in the community to such an extent some of them had even threatened to file the no-confidence motion against HH the Prime Minister if the problem was not solved.

“As a matter of fact, the initiative of HH the Amir to handle this crisis was based on his tolerance and treated the same from ‘sovereignty’ point of view although this is right that only HH the Amir has, but then he transformed the crisis into a issue that can be discussed by a bilateral committee to be formed by the legislative and executive powers.

“However, the method adopted by HH the Amir in this connection, can be seen as a gift to protect both the social and political harmony in the country. The decision taken by HH the Amir decision in this connection is actually based on his convictions and justifications.

“Such being the case, we have to shun the idea that the solution depicts as a deal that has been concluded between some MPs to ‘protect’ HH the Prime Minister from parliamentary interrogation, because the decision of the Amir cannot and should not be linked to any consideration.

“In other words, the sublime position of HH the Amir in itself is immune, because this position takes the country to a safe harbor to get rid of crises.

“In the meantime, we would like to emphasize here that the proposed solution to the issue is actually based on the wisdom and tolerance of HH the Amir. This solution has held together the Kuwaiti reputation of Kuwait which was at stake.

“As a matter of fact, revoking the nationality is not an ordinary action undertaken by the governments, particularly since we know the appearance of this action coincides with the appearance of military regimes in some countries which were destroyed by the historical legitimacy of some Arab regimes such as Iraq, Egypt, Libya, the Sudan and Syria.

“In these countries the nationalities had been revoked to punish the opposition members those were determined to confront the ‘revolutionary demagogue’. As such these people and their families were pursued and the opposition symbols were accused of high treason.

“In Kuwait, we had never known the term of ‘revoking the nationalities’. Moreover, nobody in the country was ever persecuted due to his/her political attitudes, because in the Kuwaiti community no citizen was exposed to political punishment and this means revoking the nationality of any citizen due to his/her political attitude which will always be turned down.

“In spite of the above, I believe it would be appropriate for the time being to review the files of those who were naturalized in Kuwait particularly after the Iraqi invasion of the country and keep in mind that HH the Amir has managed to surmount the relevant crisis.

“However, nobody knows what will happen in future, because we know post invasion many people sneaked in and stayed in the country and became part of the Kuwaiti community although they lack the ability to coexist with this community based on allegiance and belonging to the homeland.

“In other words, the wisdom and the sagacity of HH the Amir helped clear the hot atmospheres, but challenges for the future shall remain.”

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“It looks like the Islamic State (IS) organization or the so-called ‘DAESH’ has been badly battered in both Iraq and Syria although it has managed to resist in some enclaves,” columnist and former Director of the Culture Department at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL)

wrote for daily. “As a matter of fact, the price for defeating ‘DAESH’ is paid by many innocent lives and destruction of homes and infrastructure during the fight against this organization. In spite of the above, the people in the besieged areas have started sensing joy compounded with caution.

“But the question here is: will ‘DAESH’ and its supporters be defeated for good? In response to this question, we say the eradication of ‘DAESH’ and liberation of the areas that were under the occupation of this organization, doesn’t mean the eradication of the latter’s intellectual prowess and springs in the Muslim world, as long as religious extremism and fanaticism exist in our communities.

“In this connection, we elucidate that religious extremism and fanaticism very much exist in our communities in various forms and can be perceived everywhere including the schools, the universities, the mosques and the homes.

“This happens although most people believe the fanaticism is linked to inhumanity because those who own this thought believe they are right and others wrong irrespective of the nature of this thought — religious, sectarian, ethnic, nationalistic, tribal or Marxist, and because fanaticism doesn’t recognize intellectual pluralism.

“Nobody can deny the importance of belonging to some thought or the other, provided this belonging is not based on extremism and fanaticism, because the latter will negatively affect the behaviors and education level of the relevant people and destroy both the spirit of humanity and the communities and feed hatred and discord among the people which in the end may look like a war between two sides.

“In this context, we say the extremist thoughts represent the springs of hatred, bloody struggles and the Ex-Communication Ideology based on intellectual terrorism and this will result in the destruction of the entire communities.

“In the meantime, we should keep in mind that the main springs of the extremism exist in backwardness and racism and the latter is based on disdaining others.

“As such the extremists must not be allowed to manage the vital sectors in any country including education and Information, because they will certainly recruit the latter to serve their own agendas as well as their extremist thoughts.”

“Are the testimonies concerning the presence of armed and civil resistance during the Iraqi invasion in Kuwait comprehensive or were there other kinds of resistance that were kept unknown?”

wrote for daily. “I was among those who remained in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion in 1990. Therefore, I know many heroic stories about the resistance which was not limited to just carrying the weapons. During the Iraqi invasion, Kuwait witnessed the largest form of social disobedience throughout its history. That disobedience started on the first day of the invasion and lasted until the end of the invasion.

“When I read the tales about the resistance, I realized most of them are exaggerated and some are just claims. This is because of the lack of media coverage at that time. What I can personally vouch for is that everybody resisted the invasion. Writing and publishing were among the most important ways of resistance. Sheltering the resistant youths by families was another form of resistance. The role played by the elderly in carrying news and tracking information about the enemy’s movements was also resistance in the form of intelligence which helped save the lives of many youths.

“Resistance also included those who delivered drinking water to houses, those who cleaned the streets and removed the garbage and those who volunteered to run vital services such as bakeries, cooperative societies and hospitals. Even those who reared chickens and then distributed eggs to their neighbors were among the resistance. Therefore, the ways of resistance cannot be counted.

“However, the armed resistance did exist but the heroes who participated in it were pledged to keep their military secrets. They did not boast about their sacrifices after the liberation of Kuwait and opted to keep their secrets. Many heroic acts were carried out by the Kuwaitis who left Kuwait during the invasion. Truth be told, all Kuwaiti citizens had resisted the invasion in their own way.”

“When we talk about the importance of fixing the population structure problem, we are pointing out the rule which stipulates that a state with less than 60 percent citizens in the population composition cannot claim security,” wrote for

daily. “We are not stressing on deportation or reduction of the number of expatriates. We are just stressing the need to meet the requirements of national security. This is not a mere Kuwaiti call. This is what every country is already doing including Europe which has started taking serious actions to limit the number of illegal immigrants who could threaten the national security and social unity.

“What the Gulf countries including Kuwait are facing now is the result of the oil revolution that led these countries to make great changes including establishment of a modern state and high-level infrastructural changes. These developmental projects require experienced laborers and specialists who were unavailable in these countries. They brought in skilled workers from other Arab countries and laborers from Asian countries such as India.

“The citizens’ conditions have now changed. Their houses have become larger and their lifestyle has completely changed. They do not like hard jobs and prefer to relax and exert less efforts to work. They have many domestic workers, drivers and farm workers. Due to the fact that these laborers receive low salaries, citizens use them extravagantly. This in turn led to the business of human trafficking which needs nothing more the sponsor’s signature and has become quite profitable. Eventually, the streets became full of marginal laborers who are searching for any job and even end up begging.

“This problem cannot be settled via individual initiatives. Laws must be enforced. Without cancelling the sponsorship system, there can be no solution to the problem. Qatar has already cancelled the sponsorship system and has established an independent authority which is responsible for employing and dismissing expatriates.

“Tax must be imposed for employing domestic workers. If this cost is high, it will help limit the extravagant employment of domestic workers in each house. Some bans should be implemented for family visits.

“Upholding the national security and social identity is a global requirement in every country worldwide including Kuwait.”

“Grilling of the Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah and the attendant vote of noconfidence leading to the resignation of the minister has opened a new page in the executive-legislative relationship, which is likely to be strained,”

wrote for daily. “The situation has put the government in a tight corner such that all ministers are now vulnerable. It may lead to another major Cabinet reshuffle if the minister does not fare well on Wednesday. The situation seems dicey from the look of things and the press statements issued by the lawmakers so far. They have, on social media, expressed willingness to support the vote of no-confidence initiative.

“Despite the decision taken by the lawmakers concerning vote of no-confidence against the minister, it is embarrassing for some of them to react based on the Twitter pressure, knowing that it represents the world of imagination rather than reality. Initiators of such moves are difficult to detect since all of them hide behind keyboards using vague and bogus names to provoke the public.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb