‘Gift from Kuwait mishandled’

‘Iraqi politicians twisting facts’

“THE gift from Kuwait, brand new 18 power transformers which were imported by Kuwait to meet its emergency needs were given by the concerned Kuwaiti authorities to our brothers in Iraq to light South Iraq,” columnist, general manager of the Scope Satellite TV Channel and former MP wrote for daily.

“However, after these transformers were accepted by our Iraqi brothers, they were held at Safwan by the Iraqi authorities there in the name of completing customs formalities.

“After these transformers left the customs at Safwan, nobody knows their destination, but according to some people these transformers were sent by the State of Kuwait to Baghdad and not to Basra and this was proved by audio-video recording but the point is these transformers may have been replaced by secondhand transformers.

“However, the most significant aspect in this connection is what has been attributed to the governor of Basra who was quoted as saying the transformers which were sent by Kuwait are secondhand.

“He added these transformers consume more energy than the others and will meet the requirements of Basra. In this connection, we would like to point out that every transformer is good enough to provide light for one residential area.

“Meanwhile, the governor of Basra went on to say these power generators were placed near some hospitals for use in case of emergency only, because they have the same.

“However, it looks like the governor by making such a statement wants to send a message to the world that Kuwait did not light the skies of Basra, but the governor didn’t elucidate the fate of the shipment of fuel which the State of Kuwait provided to commission the relevant transformers.

“Likewise, the governor didn’t clarify the fate of the four water distillation plants which the State of Kuwait had sent to Iraq with a capacity of each plant to produce one million gallons per day. These power distillation plants were gifted by the State of Kuwait to the sisterly country of Iraq upon instructions of HH the Amir -we pray to Almighty Allah to protect and take care of our Amir – after the country of Two Rivers was hit by water scarcity due to negligence of the concerned authorities there.

“The water distillation plants entered Iraq via Safwan, but we don’t know the destination of these plants. However, we hope these plants will not be called secondhand or that they shall consume more fuel compared than the other plants after they went out of sight.

“As a matter of fact, the world humanitarian leader perceives the torment of the Iraqi people and is very keen to stretch his hand of charity to this people in the name of the Kuwaitis.

“Not just that, his initiatives of charity towards the Iraqi people have always been persistent since the downfall of the former regime and this embodies his keenness towards the Iraqi people.

“This happens, although these charity initiatives are likely to meet the denial of some politicians because the Kuwaiti assistance to the Iraqi people has exposed their failures in the service of their peoples.

“Hence, these politicians always underestimate these assistances. In this context, we cite the statements of the governor of Basra who has failed to provide his governorate the assistance that was provided by the State of Kuwait, and as such he attempted to underestimate the Kuwaiti assistance via the satellite TV channels who seemingly believed that his statements will instigate the Kuwaitis to ‘revolt’ against the Kuwaiti government and eventually put pressure on their government to stop assisting Iraq.

“As a matter of fact, that is the real objective of some Iraqi politicians, because the assistance given by the State of Kuwait will expose their shortcomings. They also believe this assistance may result in the people of Basra revolting against them because of their failure to provide what has been provided by the State of Kuwait.

“However, every Iraqi from Basra reserves the right to ask the governor of Basra if the Kuwaiti assistances were infeasible, why he accepted the same.”

Al-Saeed

“Our region currently sees a lot of political and military projects under various names, the last of which was the ‘invention’ of the so-called ‘The Arab NATO’,” columnist and former minister of state for National Assembly Affairs

wrote for daily. “However, all these projects are aimed at confronting Iran, but not to achieve the much-needed harmony. In spite of the above, the reality shows that all the relevant projects are doomed to fail or render them ineffective because these projects are infeasible due to lack of enthusiasm.

“This happened although a lot of efforts were exerted and a lot of money had been spent in vain for the sake of these projects. In this connection, we suggest that if this money was allocated to meet the requirements of the development projects in the region, the Arabs would bask in luxury and comfort.

“However, the proposed ‘Arab-American NATO’ will not be different from other projects. Ironically while the US President is currently trying to promote enmity against Iran and the NATO project in question simultaneously, he has suddenly started soliciting an unconditional dialogue with Iran.

“Although, his bid for a dialogue with Iran is the real and successful solution, but Trump, had burned down all bridges with the Persian region by withdrawing from the Iranian Nuclear Deal and resuming US sanctions against Iran.

“However, following his repeated threats the Iranians retaliated with a stronger rhetoric, he immediately changed his mind and proved that he is volatile. This happened while Iran sincerely and repeatedly called for a dialogue with the Arab Bank of the Gulf without preconditions.

“In this context, we refer to the State of Kuwait which has repeatedly called for a dialogue to find a solution for all burning issues which still grip the minds of the people of our region and depleted the latter financially, politically and militarily.

“In this connection and relation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed, we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him, during the last Arab summit that was held in Jordan in March 2017 had said, ‘We emphasize on the stability in international relations as well as in the international law based on reciprocal respect among nations and on the non-intervention in the internal affairs of these states in addition to respect for the good neighborliness. As such we are looking forward to persistent consultations and constructive dialogue among states of the region for the sake of achieving security and stability in this part of the world’.”

“Between the northern and southern parts of the Gulf, Kuwait and Oman balanced politics and security in the region through the tried and tested diplomatic approach, awareness of conditions in the region, and the balance of power,” columnist

wrote for daily. “This Omani-Kuwaiti policy is based on neutrality in dealing with regional and international disputes. This gives His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Sultan Qaboos an effective international position to manage events and the ability to save the region from various forms of danger and avoid war.

“The Sultanate of Oman played an effective role in dousing tension after the drums of war between Washington and Tehran and spared the region from the danger of such war.

“The Sultanate led by Sultan Qaboos distanced itself from the war in Yemen — a move marked by wisdom and ability to read the future and repercussions of current events.

“The other balancing entity in the Gulf is the Sheikh of Diplomacy and the man of mediation — His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah — who strives to settle Gulf and Arab differences. He plays an important role in averting danger that threatens the security of Gulf states. He is distinguished as the leader of humanitarian action. He leads his humanitarian diplomacy in the reconstruction of whatever the machine of war and chaos in Iraq, Syria and others have destroyed.

“Sabah and Qaboos deserve the Nobel Prize equally for their outstanding political initiatives and sincere humanitarian tendencies in addressing threats to the region.”

“Racism remains a slogan raised by the Zionist entity. Even if it pretends otherwise, all of its actions are documented and confirm the slogan that it has adopted. The slogan is crystal clear for the entire international community,” columnist

wrote for daily. “In the past month, the Zionist entity approved Israel’s Jewish State Law which stipulates that the priority is the Jewish character, while pointing out that the occupied land is the historical homeland of the Jews and grants them the right to self-determination.

“It is not surprising that the brutal entity is racist. Its history includes the construction of the separation wall which observers have described as the Apartheid Wall, while killing, torture and displacement of Palestinians were carried out in full view of the international community which is fast asleep and in deep slumber when it comes to the Palestinian issue.

“The era of occupation has almost ended and the world knows the rights of people very well. When will we see the Palestinians enjoying their freedom and wealth which have been stolen from them?”

“The bitterness over the Iraqi invasion in Kuwait on Aug 2, 1990 is still present, and Kuwaiti people still remember that experience quite well. On that day, Iraqi forces violated all international laws and customs,” wrote for daily.

“The lessons learnt from that experience must be taught to the future generations. The coming generations have to be informed about the strong will of Kuwaitis who managed to turn the hard times into a gift represented by the unity of the citizens irrespective of their different sects and classes. Their only slogan back then was ‘Kuwait First’. There was no place for any bias based on sects, tribes, parties or classes. Only loyalty to the nation and ultimate devotion to the country under the legitimate rule of the Al-Sabah Family was prevalent.

“This was quite obvious during the Jeddah Conference where the citizens renewed their trust and loyalty to the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. On this occasion, we cannot ignore the support shown by the sisterly and friendly countries towards the Kuwaiti right. We all remember the UN Resolution No. 666 that asked Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait without any exception. This resolution was in harmony with the stance of the Arab League and the relevant decisions of the UN Security Council.

“According to the international resolutions, Iraq was given a grace period until Feb 15, 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait. Nevertheless, the then Iraqi regime ignored the request because of which about one million soldiers from 34 countries were ready for confronting Iraq.

“Jan 25, 1991 was fixed as the day for the kickoff of the liberation war titled ‘Desert Storm’. The war ended with the defeat of the Iraqi forces, thanks to God and to the allies. Feb 26, 1991 witnessed the liberation of Kuwait.

“The Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations have now become strong and stable with the end of the era of Saddamist rule in Iraq. We ask Allah to preserve the security and stability of Kuwait.”

“Aramco, the largest oil production company in the world, raised many questions on the subscription process and repeated postponement of the process,” columnist wrote for daily.

“This repeated postponement has affected investors and those concerned with the oil sector, especially their enthusiasm in following up news about the subscription. Today, Aramco’s possession of shares of Saudi’s investment fund in SABIC — the fourth biggest petrochemical company in the world — is under study so Aramco made the headlines again.

“What does this direction mean for us? How will the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia benefit from this? What are the motives behind this possession?

“Currently, Aramco is carrying out remarkable operations and expansion projects and new markets opened in the last few years — wide fields for future Saudi crude oil exports — in a bid to protect its share in the world oil market.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb