‘Make peace with neighbours’

‘Grudge, hatred brewing against Iran’

“THE Iranian spiritual leader Al-Sayed Ali Khamenei was recently quoted as saying the situation in Iran is different because Iran is a big country and it is stable in the context of comparison between what is currently taking place in the Arab countries — unrest and turmoil,” columnist and former Kuwaiti ambassador wrote for daily.

“But it is a well-known fact that Iran shares big borders with both Afghanistan and Iraq and these two countries are unstable where all sorts of weapons are freely available. In this context, since Iran shares a big border with Afghanistan, we will not be surprised if weapons are smuggled into Tehran from Kabul.

“On Wednesday June 7, 2017 some people were visiting the shrine of the leader of the Iranian revolution Ayatollah Al-Khomeini alongside the tomb of the former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The place was the scene of a suicide attack by a female bomber in which eight people were killed.

“At the same time, Iran was the victim of another attack — on the Iranian Shura Council (parliament) – which was carried out by an unknown person which killed seven people and injured several others. The attackers also took some people hostage but the Iranians following these attacks started wondering what happened and why the concerned authorities failed to prevent the two incidents from happening.

“Nonetheless, what happened recently in Iran can be summed up as huge attacks on two major Iranian symbols — the shrine of Khomeini and the Shura Council. These attacks represent ‘a strong message’ to the symbols of the Iranian revolution, and can be translated as tremendous pressure or a challenge for the Iranian government.

“As a matter of fact, the concerned Iranian authorities were also proud of tight security measures in Tehran. However, while the Islamic Jihadist movements were seemingly planning to keep attacks on Iran as their priority, we were surprised to see the Islamic State organization or the so-called ‘DAESH’ taking responsibility for the two attacks in the same tone as it earlier claimed responsibility for attacks in Europe and bombings in both Turkey and the Philippines.

“It seems Iran had read well what happened to Denmark and Sweden. The history of the two countries show many wars were fought between these two countries, but by time, Denmark found out the wars had incurred exorbitant material and human losses and this had resulted in Copenhagen also discovering its policy – at the military and political level – when dealing with Sweden was wrong and decided it was time to reconcile with it and give up military supremacy for the sake of its development.

“In the wake of this development, however, the two countries saw a better change and all restrictions that were in place including travel between both countries were canceled and now both these countries are currently members of the European Union moving freely within their countries without passports and without even identity cards.

“This happened post a destructive war between the two countries, because both Denmark and Sweden had come to a conviction that the relations among the countries could no longer be based on a logic that ‘I have to win and you have to lose’, rather these relations could only be based on ‘win-win’ principle.

“It is apparent Iran has yet to learn from the lessons in history but instead it was involved in promoting sectarian tendencies in the region since the very beginning of its 1979 revolution.

“In this context, we just ponder how Iran over the past years had interfered in the internal affairs of four Arab countries – a behavior that is rejected by the international community because it violates international law.

“To add insult to injury, Iran has rejected to make any concessions although many people have been killed in those Arab countries due to Tehran’s intervention as a result of which the crises aggravated because Iran always wanted to portray itself as an infallible cavalier and others a mistaken lot.

“The former director of Western Asia Affairs Department at the Iranian Foreign Ministry Mir Mahmoud Mousavi during an interview to the Iranian AlShaq newspaper in mid-December 2016 said ‘I am pessimistic at the moment and I am afraid about the future of internal front of Iran’.

“He went on to say, ‘hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed, millions have been displaced and this shall result in millions of Syrians harboring grudge and hatred against Iran.

“For this there should be peace in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan if Iran wants to get the slice of the same peace and prosperity because unless there is security and stability in these countries Iran’s security shall be under threat. Moreover, progress and luxury shall be something unachievable.

“It is needless to say Iran is currently in a position to benefit from the precious advice of Sayed Mousavi and from the Danish/Swedish lesson if it wants to become the ‘Singapore of the Gulf’ instead of following an aggressive policy similar to that of Denmark during the Middle Ages. This can eventually transform the Arab region into a market for products.”

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Al-Dawas

“The crisis and severing of relations between the four Arab countries –the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Egypt — on one hand and the State of Qatar on the other is not surprising at all, rather the only surprise is it happened a bit late,” columnist wrote for

daily. “I think it is no secret that the tension between Qatar and many sisterly countries surfaced more than 20 years ago and we have been repeatedly hearing about the intentions to sever ties with Doha, but the Kuwaiti good offices had played its role to hold off the boycott, which we hope will not last long.

“What currently saddens us is to see the Gulf Cooperation Council currently facing some upheavals while the member States still strive to confront the Iranian interventions and this is a threat to the stability of the entire region, particularly since we know the Arab coalition is currently involved in fending off armed attacks from Yemen against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“We hope neither to lose Qatar nor to see Doha moving away from the Gulf and Arab fold. We also don’t want to see the Qataris incurring heavy political burdens irrespective of the sources and reasons behind it, rather we hope this current crisis will end peacefully, but certainly the Amir of Humanity – the Amir of Kuwait HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad will lead successfully the relevant task.

“In conclusion, we pray to Almighty Allah to protect our Arab Gulf region and our Arab nation from every devilish action.”

“Kuwait has always been a land of peace and Kuwaitis have never waged a war on anyone. It’s not because of cowardice but due to their conviction of the principles of peace. Nonetheless, Kuwaitis have emerged victorious in all their defensive wars throughout their history; they are a people who wish other nations well,” columnist wrote for daily.

“Despite the blazing atmosphere in the region; in terms of armed war or media war — Kuwait refuses to have a part in it and chooses to be a peace mediator or peace messenger in the region and globally. Kuwait’s principles of peace coupled with the wise political approach of its leaders have made a huge impact on countries in the world, and this continues to be its theme.

“Unfortunately, there are people who are trying to take advantage of Kuwait’s fineness. For instance, the remnants of those who deserted the so-called ‘DAESH’ ready to return to their countries to continue serving as sleeper cells until they receive destruction orders. Kuwait is expecting several of them.

“The region, especially the Gulf region is currently prone to chaos and tumult, unless the security agencies take the maximum security precautions and acquire cutting edge means of uncovering clandestine operations, especially those related to security. Moreover, the regional security agencies should not forget that Zionist security agencies are always looking for an opportunity to launch indirect strike, which no country in the region should feel comfortable in dealing with — for fear of deception.”

“The 2015 statistic on the rate of home refuse indicates a high increase compared to previous years, putting the quantity of excess waste at around 1.5 million tons annually,” wrote for daily.

“According to the statistic, per capita wastage is 360 kilograms per annum, which is an average of one kilogram per day. From the total home wastes dumped in the garbage bins, 45 percent is excess food items. This is almost half of a kilogram per day.

“As we are saying this, we all know that the rate at which food is wasted, especially during the month of Ramadan, including the derived negative implications. The effects could be related to health, material, social and religious aspects.

“Despite the fact that the objective of fasting during Ramadan is related to worship, patience, strength for endurance, health, and empathy for the weak and poor, the reality on ground does not reflect that purpose. The phenomenon is related to wastage of food and drink, and spending time on varieties of food and drinks.”

“People of the Gulf region were shocked by what they have been seeing and hearing lately. Hysteria has struck some Twitter users, Gulf media and many people. They failed to verify the reason behind this media tsunami that has impacted the Gulf relations,”

wrote for daily.

“We have been hearing several analyses concerning this troubling phenomenon, which has exposed our nudity, as Gulf citizens, to others, and proven to all that the statement “Our Gulf region and destiny are one” is just a big trick in our lives! “Maybe these kinds of people are targeted by the antagonists of stability in the Gulf region and by enemies of Gulf unity to ensure failure of the Gulf coherence and to frustrate the idea of Gulf Union for GCC countries.

“Yes, these pens could have been hired and paid to do that. An overwhelming majority of Gulf people may also refuse this way of handling the Gulf affairs but they stay silent without finding a good opportunity to express their viewpoints.

“There is no doubt that the situation today is unprecedentedly bad to the extent that some of those who we though have their own opinions, followed the calls for sedition and participated in the slapping game. “Today, GCC should give the banner to His Highness the Amir of humanity who has long record in settling disputes among the brothers. He is the most capable in settling this crack and taking the GCC countries to the land of safety, provided no foreign agendas are imposed by those who advocate dividing the GCC countries for the sake of satisfying our antagonists.”

“In a recent article published by Qabas daily, Mr Ahmad Al-Sarraf drew our attention to the decision of Interior Ministry to ban the renewal of family visas for parents, siblings and other relatives living in Kuwait,” columnist wrote for

daily. “The decision restricts the issuance of family visa to the wife and children, while other members of the family are required to modify their status within 3 months or leave Kuwait forever. The decision was taken under the pretext of amending the demographic disorder!

“I agree with Brother Ahmad Al-Sarraf on the importance of amending the demographic disorder due to its dangerous consequences on society but the solution is not with deportation of fathers, mothers and brothers of expatriates who served Kuwait for many years and made the country their second home.

“In my opinion, the first step to resolving the issue is to sweep the remnants of illegal residency trade represented by marginal labors loitering streets in many places such as Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and promoting criminal activities.

“We need to study Americans and civil society and the Judiciary on their response to the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump to prevent the citizens of some eight Muslim majority countries from entering the US.

“We also need to remember the steps taken by Britain to receive Kurds who fled the aggression of Saddam Hussein after his invasion of Kuwait, as part of the requirements of a major country. For this reason, we need to take note of the requirements of humanitarianism and not slogans.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb