‘Saudi role not forgotten’

‘Writer Al-Rashed objectives unknown’

“SINCE the very beginning of the eruption of the ‘Gulf Crisis’ (the differences among some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Bahrain on one hand and the State of Qatar on the other), the leadership and the people of the State of Kuwait has been in the forefront to solve the crisis,” columnist wrote for daily.

“HH the Amir has personally played the vital role motivated by his conviction all parties to the conflict are his brothers and that he should spare no time to hold a dialogue to seek mutual understanding among them.

“However, Kuwait was upset over the prospective expansion of the conflict in the belief it would give room for the enemies of the nation to invest in it and complicate the matters to help the conflict extend for a longer period of time.

“In order to prevent this from happening HH the Amir was personally keen to play the role of mediator given his close relations with his brothers -- the leaders of the GCC countries parties to the conflict.

“Personally speaking, I am not here to interfere in the ‘Gulf Crisis’ its reasons and backgrounds, because I am positive our GCC brothers whatever their differences would eventually agree and contain any prospective and real danger and this is what exactly happened during the Iraqi invasion and occupation of our country 27 years ago.

“However, here I would like to shed light on the accusations leveled against us by the celebrated Saudi writer Abdurrahman Al-Rashed through his articles alleging that we have denied the distinguished role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the liberation of our country from the Iraqi invasion and occupation.

“However, by doing so Al-Rashed believed his articles would provoke us and eventually choose to be part and parcel of the conflict in question.

“It is unbelievable to see a celebrated writer like Abdurrahman Al-Rashed resorting to this strange manner, ignoring the fact that such manner is strange not only for the Kuwaitis and their values, but also strange for the values and the morals of the brotherly Saudi people who extend a helping hand and assistance even to foreigners, let alone its generous assistance to the sisterly countries.

“Not just that, what is strange indeed is to see Al-Rashed attempting to involve Kuwait which currently plays the role of mediator to solve the current Gulf crisis but it is evident through his attempts he wants to see Kuwait being transformed into one of the parties to the crisis and this is not only irrational but illogical. However, we know nothing about his objectives.

“However, since our colleague Al-Rashed is involved in twisting the facts by accusing us, particularly by saying that we have watered down the role that has been played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion and occupation, he is ignoring the fact that we in Kuwait for the past 27 years have been marking the anniversary of the Iraqi invasion and occupation and the liberation of our country and during every celebration we have been praising the role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a leader topped by the late King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz -- we pray to Almighty Allah to bestow his mercy upon him.

“Not only that, the Saudi role in this connection has been projected through our curriculums so that the future generations will always remember this role. We did this although we are aware that our Saudi brothers motivated by their values are not waiting for anyone to thank them for their fruitful attitudes.

“In spite of the above, Al-Rashed attempts to involve us in political differences with the Kingdom. He described the role played by the State of Kuwait to settle the current Gulf crisis as negative, hinting this role has encouraged the brothers in Qatar instead of rationalizing them.

“Anyway, if Al-Rashed takes into account the opinions of some Kuwaitis who sympathize with the sisterly country of Qatar due to the sanctions that have been imposed upon her, we would like to tell Al-Rashed that this doesn’t mean that the State of Kuwait is against the sisterly country of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia nor denies the role of the Kingdom during the liberation of Kuwait.

“However, the opinions in question reflect the attitudes of the relevant persons and not the political leadership or the people of Kuwait.

“In this context, we refer to your three articles in which you criticized our country. However, we want to make it clear that we are positive that the articles in question neither represent the political leadership of the sisterly country of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nor the great Saudi people whose values and morals will reject your manner in question.”

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Al-Rowaihel

“It is needless to say we cannot blame any country, at least under the current circumstances when it comes to boosting ties with Turkey and big Asian economic blocs,” columnist

wrote for daily. “But certainly, the people of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member States, hope to see every country behaving rationally in this connection and keeping in mind that there are some redlines that should not be crossed for the sake of the security of our GCC countries, because all of us are in the same boat in view of our geographical location as well as in view of our joint social and cultural fabric.

“Such being the case, we shall not allow anyone from any country to open the door of our Gulf home to help the joint foe access this home, because this home is not a property for a single country, rather it is for all and this means all of us must participate in opening and closing it.

“In the meantime, we hope all GCC governments will include our Gulf joint security and economic interests on their current and future agendas. We say the above, although we have no objection to see any Gulf country concluding a commercial or security pacts with any respectable and reputable country that has a distinguished relationship with other GCC countries.

“In this context, we would like to refer to Turkey, for instance, because Ankara has no regional avarice and has not interfered in the internal affairs of other countries. To the contrary Turkey enjoys good partnerships with all GCC countries in various fields.

“However, it is needless to say boosting ties with a State which interferes in the internal affairs of other countries and support the sleeper cells and whose activities are suspicious, the GCC countries shall reserve the right to turn down such partnerships by all legitimate means and potentials, because it will not be acceptable to see the security of the GCC countries being penetrated in the name of concluding commercial ties and partnerships for the latter shall constitute a danger to the national security of the GCC countries.

“In this connection, we cite the failure of the US mediation to solve the Gulf crisis although this mediation initially was active, because this mediation came up against an adamant wall that turned down any role that contradicts the GCC joint Law and Charter. Moreover, the latter rejects the adoption of any policy by any of the GCC member States that is likely to constitute a danger to our regional security.”

“It is true that print media is facing serious difficulty due to social media, and taking into consideration the speed of news circulation,”

wrote for daily. “However, print media still retains a unique feature of authenticity, which is most important. For instance, news is available on Twitter but nobody believes it until they confirm it in a reliable newspaper, even if it is published late. I sent an article to a newspaper over the past few days about a specific news item and the story changed in the evening, which required cancellation or change of information.

“For example, I wrote about the disappearance of a Kuwaiti woman in Bosnia but Twitter and Facebook had circulated news that the woman was found, so my story became stale and wasn’t published. It also happened on the martyrdom of Dr Waleed Al-Ali and Fahad Al-Husseini in Burkina Faso. I repeat that print media maintains authenticity worthy of reference, because people do not believe news on Twitter and Facebook until they confirm it in the newspaper.”

“The same way the Ministry of Interior arrested all culprits in the bombing of Imam Al-Sadeq Mosque, thanks to Allah the Almighty the officers have arrested Abdali Cell members who evaded justice after being sentenced to various jail terms,”

wrote for daily. “Members of the cell were convicted based on their confession to the crime of espionage, and receiving funding, explosives, arms and ammunitions from Iran and Hezbollah to destabilize the national security. The convicts had also undergone training on how to transport, handle and store weapons, besides producing explosives in Abdali area!

“Terrorism has only one face, not two, so it’s always condemned by all — regardless of race, color and doctrine. There is no difference whether it is a Muslim or non-believer, man or woman, Sunni or Shiite, sane or suffering from mental disorder, Jew or Arab!

“That’s why Kuwait was busy lately with the issue of Abdali Cell fugitives after social media became awash with wrong and unfair attacks and suspicion against officers of the Interior Ministry who were accused of deliberately facilitating the escape. The officers were right in taking immediate action and announcing arrest of the culprits in no time! We should commend the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid Al-Jarrah and officers involved.”

“It seems the Gulf crisis is still continuing and it is even getting deeper, especially among social media users who approach the crisis through their low level arguments,” columnist wrote for

daily. “It seems there are underground parties that feed such unjustified disputes. We need to find out who benefits from the continuation of the crisis. However, the most important part of the entire story is the everlasting attempt to involve Kuwait in the struggle despite the Kuwaitis’ crystal clear position on positive neutralism. The beneficiaries are no longer accepting Kuwaiti mediation and they left no stone unturned in foiling Kuwaiti attempts to end the crisis.

“What is really painful is that a number of Kuwaiti political activists have been deceived. We see them engaged in the argument on social media and they even share the beneficiaries’ ideas – whether with good or bad intentions. They raise dangerous issues although they are unreal such as claiming that Kuwait is next in line.

“There are secret parties which feel the danger each time Kuwait approaches an end. They insist on putting Kuwait into the first box. Those among us who promote such ideas give a hand to the ‘fifth column’ unconsciously.

“Sadly, the relevant authorities do not know how to deal with rumors circulated by the ‘fifth column’. These authorities leave the field open for them to move freely, considering their actions too trivial to be confronted or even pay attention to them.

“The Gulf crisis is dangerous and its consequences are devastating. Everybody is sure the solution to the crisis starts from Kuwait and then it is exposed to serious attempts against such endeavors. We call on the authorities to hit with an iron hand those who target Kuwaiti attempts by creating and spreading rumors.”

“In a wonderful parental gesture, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received Muhammad Abdullah Al-Ali and Abdulmuhssen Muhammad Al-Husaini, fathers of martyrs Sheikh Waled Al-Ali and Sheikh Fahd Al-Husaini (may Allah show them mercy),” columnist wrote for daily.

“HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah attended the reception. The two martyrs lost their lives in the hands of terrorists when they were at a restaurant located in the capital city of Burkina Faso. They were on a charitable mission at the time.

“The reception of HH the Amir is considered the bosom of a father that kills the pain and comforts the martyrs’ fathers after losing their beloved sons. This is the nature of HH the Amir who made us familiar with his passionate soul and his big heart – large enough to include each citizen.

“We remember his significant statements: ‘You are my children’ and ‘You are our people’. Such words have the utmost impact on people’s spirits. This is part of the very special relation that connects the leadership of Kuwait with the people. This represents the father-son or big brother relationship.

“The response of the victims’ families was wonderful as they expressed their gratitude to HH the Amir, wishing him the best and praying to Allah to extend his age as a wise leader of Kuwait.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb