‘Strong, stable Iraq key to peace’
‘Kuwait to benefit from thaw in ties’
“THE Kuwaiti diwaniyas and the social media were abuzz with noisy ‘scenarios’ on the background of the Kuwait International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq (KICRI),” columnist, Professor at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) College of the Technological Studies and the Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Heritage Revival Society Dr Wael Al-Hassawi wrote for AlRai daily. “Some people said, ‘We don’t have anything to do for Iraq and were not in favor of a campaign for the reconstruction of that country. It was enough to us to suffer from the occupation of our country and the killing of our children and women, they said. ‘Have you forgotten the blood of Asrar AlQabandi and the blood of Dr Hisham AlObaidan and many others’, they wondered.
“Others said: “Iraq is a rich country and does not need our assistance, and the main problem is the problem of political and financial corruption that has swallowed more than $900 billion. Not just that, some of the corrupt who still occupy higher positions in Iraq are embezzling money.
“However, the biggest concern and pro- tests have affected the welfare societies in Kuwait, which participated in the KICRI to such an extent the chairmen of these societies have received protest notes from citizens on the possibility of transferring or using their money for the reconstruction of Iraq without their consent.
“The protesters raised a question: ‘What is the guarantee that Iraq after getting rid of its problems will not make an attempt to occupy Kuwait and displace its people. They wondered what if the believer is bitten from the same hole twice.
“There is no doubt that these fears expressed by many citizens are legitimate and should not be jumped upon, but we must weigh things carefully away from the emotions that leads us to the imbalance in perception, and deviation in thinking.
“In this connection, first of all we would like to point out that we are one nation, and anything that affects one part affects the other remaining parts. Hence, based on the above, our fate entails we must join hands and cooperate in good times and bad even at the expense of our feelings.
“Secondly, our duty towards our brothers in Iraq is something holy that cannot be overlooked or canceled, and we must do our best to stand with our brothers with all that we have because the people of Kuwait are the closest to Iraq and the ones capable to assist it and stretching our helping hands.
“In this context, we say as long as we reach the far areas on our planet seeking to help the needy and the poor, then how can we prevent our assistance to the people who are nearest to us?
“Thirdly, the ordeals that afflict Iraq today are caused by the ‘evil forces’ which had earlier sought to tear us apart and as such we should not hold the people of Iraq accountable for the same because they too were victims like us. These people are implementing external agendas to tear up the unity of the nation and dismantle its ranks. They do not represent the original people of Iraq.
“Four, a strong and stable Iraq is a support for us, but to keep it weak, shall inevitably lead to the dismemberment of the nation and we will be its first victims. Kuwait’s efforts to forget the past and help Iraq contribute to overcoming the axis of good and defeat the axis of evil, which will be satisfied only with the disintegration of Iraq and the conflict between its components.
“Five, the Iraq reconstruction conference is not aimed at raising funds and donations to Iraq, but to establish vital projects that benefit the Iraqi people and help them to recover from its recession. Kuwait is one of the biggest beneficiaries of these projects, either by guaranteeing the recovery of its debts to Iraq or by importing the gas and water we need most.
“Six, with regard to the charitable societies that had won the trust of both the citizens and the expatriates in Kuwait, will not at all cheat the citizens or attempt to pay the money that had been donated by them for charity purposes through any other channels.
“Hence, we would like to assure the people of the State of Kuwait that their funds are in honest hands and as such the charity societies will not dare at all to embezzle the same nor remit the same to those who may not deserve it.”
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“The State of Kuwait under the leadership or HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad — the Leader of Humanity — was keen to let the entire world hear its voice,” columnist Abdurrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“It presented its achievements and established its great humanitarian presence in a world of rough waves and challenges.
“It is the State of Kuwait that led big convoys by hosting the international conference for the reconstruction of Iraq through a well designed humanitarian action. By doing so, it is the State of Kuwait which through this action proliferated peace, security and safety in a country shattered by wars and terrorism.
“Thus, it is the State of Kuwait which as always is big in terms of giving, great in terms of initiatives, proud of leadership and has climbed the ladder of glory since the very beginning of the foundation of this precious pearl (The State of Kuwait).
“Kuwait has continued to rise and rise through its advancement and support of its citizens who have always basked in the wise leadership which knows how to realize the achievements and how to make the impossible happen through tolerance in dealing with the past. It is the State of Kuwait which looks forward optimistically to the future.
“In this connection, we refer to United Nations Secretary General’s speeches which are self explanatory and this was evident when he recorded his testimony for the good of Kuwait and her leadership while appreciating the efforts of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad and the State of Kuwait for supporting Iraq and hosting the Kuwait International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq (KICRI).
“He talked about the State of Kuwait which reflects its distinguished position through her Amir. The Secretary-General said HH the Amir of Kuwait Sabah AlAhmad is one of the first leaders who stood to support the Syrian refugee problem at a time when the international community had dealt recklessly with the same.
“It is needless to say this sentence alone is enough to elucidate the extent of the State of Kuwait and the superiority of its leadership in the field of charity and humanitarian action. It is the State of Kuwait which has undertaken this action through its consecutive generations based on its genuine role of its rulers and of her giving people.”
“On August 25, 2017, the army of Myanmar with the support of the police launched an extensive attack on 2,600 villages occupied by Rohingya Muslims in the remote
state of Arakan,” Hamed Yousef Al-Sayed
Hashem Al-Gharabali wrote for Al-Qabas
daily.
“The residents were forced to flee in order to avoid being killed or tortured especially with the increase in the violence of the army. The number of refugees in first three weeks exceeded three times the number of immigrants who crossed the Mediterranean Sea in eight months. Today the number of Rohingya Muslims is 700,000.
“On that day when the barbaric attack was launched, I was visiting an Asian country close to the place of the action and I had followed up the situation closely. An international economic forum was being held in China at that time and a major Arab country was participating in the forum. I had expected that country to delegate one of its participating figures to visit Myanmar in order to give the victims some moral support but this never happened. In fact, no worthwhile reactions came from the Islamic Conference Organization or the Arab League during the early days of the crisis.
“The first reaction from the Islamic world came from Turkey on Sept 6, 2017 when the Turkish President Recep Tayyep Erdogan called the Prime Minister of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and informed her that the situation in Arakan state was a matter of extreme concern for all Muslims especially since it has been described as genocide. The Office of the Prime Minister then issued a statement and criticized the reports issued regarding the situation as fake news.
“When all these sad events were happening, the wife of President Erdogan, Amina Erdogan visited Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Arab and Islamic countries including the Gulf countries as well as other countries in order to collaborate in combining efforts for reducing the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims.
“In this regard, the United Nations had declared that the Rohingyas are being exposed to ethnic cleansing and unrecorded violence. In its reports, it stated that the governments of Myanmar since 1962 have been working on gradually taking away the political and civilian rights of the Rohingya Muslims as well as their right of citizenship.
“The Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi did nothing to bring an end to the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims. Because of this, the supreme panel of Nobel Prize must take relevant actions to withdraw the Nobel Peace Prize from her. I instead nominate two Myanmar citizens to replace Kyi in receiving the Nobel Prize. Their names will be revealed in the coming article.”