‘Goodbye George Bush Senior’
‘Major milestone in Kuwait-US ties’
“ALL of us received the news of the death of former US President George H.W. Bush, both with sadness and full of shared memories,” columnist, professor at Kuwait University’s Political Science Department and assistant undersecretary for legal affairs at the Ministry of Information Dr Haila Hamad Al-Mekaimi wrote for Annahar daily.
“He was a global figure who filled the world and contributed to the formation of the contemporary international theater and this made the United States of America, the most prominent and stronger player on the world stage. During his administration the United States of America held most of the trump cards to play and maneuver and the more sophisticated threat and the temptation and the use of force.
“Notwithstanding, it is Bush Sr, who placed the United States of America in its current position post the end of the Cold War. In this context, we say the State of Kuwait constituted a major turning point for the relevant policy and the development and in turn constituted the cornerstone for the Kuwaiti-American relations during the new international period.
“The departure of this international personality made the Kuwaitis very sad. This man led the international coalition to liberate Kuwait from the clutches of the brutal Iraqi invasion. The Kuwaitis still remember in their contemporary political history that moment when president George Bush Sr declared ‘Congratulations, Kuwait is liberated’.
“It is needless to say that the Kuwaitis from those who were living out of their country during the Iraqi vicious invasion were actually impatiently waiting for this moment to return to their homeland, the moment that the steadfast people waited for reunification, the security for which the prisoners lived and sacrificed martyrs.
“It was the hope which the Kuwaiti Prisoners of War (POWs) were looking forward to where the martyrs – men and women – who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the same to return the life to the ‘Homeland of Day, The Homeland of Hope and the Homeland of Peace and Democracy’.
“Everyone knows the great foolishness that led the policies of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein that spilled the Arab blood. This invasion was the slow death of the Arab body, the body that Kuwait was keen to support. That is why Kuwait was in dire need of decisive international political leadership to free it with minimal possible human and regional losses.
“As a matter of fact, all people fully realized this big stupidity that governed the policies of Saddam Hussein and how these policies destroyed the Arab coherence.
“Such being the case, the State of Kuwait, was in an imperative need of crucial international political leadership to be liberated with the least possible human and regional losses.
“However, with the succession of the American administrations, we have come to know obviously that George Bush Sr was a rare and sophisticated first class political leader.
“Consequently, he concentrated on achieving swift victory without going into the problem of toppling the Iraqi regime, because any attempt in this connection could have fallen on the list of the wars of unwanted outcomes and this is what exactly occurred in the wake of launching the so-called ‘Liberation War of Iraq in 2003.
“On the day of seeing off this great personality, we have no choice, but to say: ‘Goodbye George Bush Sr. You will remain a major milestone in the history of international politics and the history of Kuwaiti-American relations in particular.’”
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“Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires has turned into a ghost town. Shops have been shut down in the capital and people have been asked to leave – anyone not connected to the G20 summit conference,” columnist Dr Humoud Al-Hattab wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“Some trade organizations in Argentina have protested against the closing of the markets and some other organizations have rejected the globalization which has resulted in imposing the sovereignty of the stronger minorities on the international and popular majority.
“However, this summit can be seen as the toughest after the G20 summit in the United States 10 years ago.
“The summit began Friday, and I wrote my article Saturday, and I expect the materialistic pragmatism to play the biggest role in leading the summit.
“I think that the 20th summit will not cover issues related to human rights or the moral aspects of human life, or the tragedies caused by wars which have often agitated the big economic corporations in a bid to trade the killing machines.
“In this connection, I am quite sure of secret meetings behind the scenes between a number of participants where economic deals are made at the expense of everything. There are hands stretching from under the tables.
“Such being the case, I expect human beings, during this summit, will constitute nothing more than consumers of the products of these states and shall hear more and listen more about the profits running in trillions to be gained by these states with some pence and fils only going into the pockets of these ordinary human beings.”
“The world commemorates the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which was adopted by the United Nations and falls on November 25 every year,” Dr Hayla Hamad Al-Mukaimi wrote for Al-Nahar daily.
“Violence is not necessarily limited to women. Elderly men and children can also be subjected to violence. Women can be violent to others including men. Nevertheless, we are talking about the general phenomenon and not about the exceptional cases.
“Moreover, confronting violence against women will enhance confronting violence against others. The more sophisticated a society is in terms of reacting to issues concerning women either personally or on the level of the entire society, the better the response of the society becomes in terms of enhancing the culture of social peace which is considered as the backbone for the development of a society in all aspects.
“On this occasion, a statistics was issued, as per which 52 percent of Kuwaiti women have been exposed to violence. It stressed that violence against women in Kuwait has become a normal phenomenon.
“The statistics revealed that women exposed to violence include young girls, mature women and even elderly women. In other words, all categories of Kuwaiti women have been exposed to violence. The issue worsens when we take into consideration the fact that many women prefer not to tell about the violence they have been exposed to. If they did, the rate specified in the statistics can actually be higher.
“This causes us to raise a number of questions. Why do some people resort to treating women violently? Is there a link between the increasing number of women exposed to violence and the dramatic increase in the number of minor crimes, which according to Public Prosecution has increased to 400 percent this year compared to previous years? Do we live in a violent society that considers violence as the way to solve problems?
“In reality, we lack the culture of respect for varied opinions and of adopting dialogue in our discussions. We are progressing towards becoming a society that lacks social peace unless we change our culture and learn to accept and respect other opinions that do not match ours.”
“What did the Gulf countries do when oil prices started deteriorating about five years back? Let us take Kuwait as an example and see what it has done in reality without considering any political promises and selling of the illusion of diversifying sources of income and imposing a just tax system”, Hassan Al-Essa wrote for Aljarida daily.
“In reality,” Kuwait did nothing but lift the subsidy on essential services and commodities, and shout slogans such as linking educational outcomes with the labor market needs.
“Kuwait did not accomplish any achievement that is worth mentioning. It used to take one step forward followed by many steps backward, especially when the government realized economic reform will bring about dangerous political side-effects that can cost a lot for the government including increase in the monitoring and extension of the political participation.
“It was more important to enhance the role of law, support law and political institutions, and direct strong hits at corruption. Sadly, these steps were not taken by the government.
“In the recent years, we heard a lot about economic reforms, but not a single word about political reforms. We used to hear a lot of talks but saw very little action. The government was waiting for a chance from heaven. The chance had arrived; God was so generous with us when the oil prices went up again to reach $80 per barrel. This relative hike in oil prices provided an excuse to postpone the economic reform procedures, bringing back our old habits.
“After the declaration of a trade war among the USA, China and Europe and the threat of the American President Donald Trump against the regional countries, the oil prices went down again, leaving the region in a dilemma.
“What will our countries do when the investment reserve is exhausted after parts of it are spent during hard times? What will be the situation of thousands of youth who enter the labor market and wait for jobs? Of course there will be no place to contain them. The potential situation will lead to another Arab Spring or maybe Arab Winter.”
“Marginalization and violence against women is not linked to any particular country or community. Violence against women is a term commonly used to describe any deliberate or exceptional acts of violence against women,” Mishref Aqab wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“This type of violence is debasing to the victim. The United Nations has defined violence and marginalization against women as any act of violence against women based on their gender which results in physical harm to women including sexual violation. It also includes the threat of assault, pressure or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
“Violence against women is often prevalent in illiterate communities as well as countries with social problems and wars. According to the Universal Declaration against all forms of violence against women, violence against women as well as problems associated with women both in public and private life may be committed by attackers from both genders and members of their families, or even the state itself.
“Governments and organizations around the world are working on combating violence against women through a variety of programs, including a UN resolution that calls for commemorating one day every year as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The countries where such violations, marginalization and violence are prevalent are among those without democracy and human rights. Such violence affects people of both genders including men, women and even children.
“The UN Secretariat stressed the importance of ending violence and marginalization against women and finding relevant solutions as soon as possible. It commemorates the annual anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, highlighting the importance of this issue. Nevertheless, the violence still continues.
“Women around the world are subjected to violence. Violence and marginalization against women is shameful and must be brought to an end because women’s rights are not just theirs. A joint campaign to stop violence against women calls on governments, civil societies, women’s organizations, youth, the private sector, the media and the United Nations agencies as a whole to work together for addressing the global scourge of violence against women and girls.
“It is pertinent to adopt national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls. It is necessary to adopt and implement national multisectoral action plans, consolidate data collection on the prevalence of violence against women and girls, increase public awareness and enhance social mobilization to address sexual violence.”
“Following the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation, the late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber AlAhmad had ordered the then Minister of Interior to unify Kuwaiti citizenship. If there were legal details to be included in the files, it was not permissible to be a Kuwaiti under Article No. 1, or articles fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and so on,” Dr Najm Abdulkareem wrote for AlJarida daily.
“The reason is that, when an enemy wants to kill a Kuwaiti, he will not choose the citizenship class but only kill the person based on his Kuwaiti identity. It is injustice for Kuwaitis to unite in death but be divided in life.
“The citizenship law No. 15/59 precedes the Constitution. However, Article 27 of the Constitution stipulates that the Constitution shall specify the Kuwaiti citizenship, which cannot be stripped or withdrawn except within the purview of law.
“The clause ‘A’ of Article 82 of the Constitution specifies the conditions for parliamentary membership, stipulating that he must be a Kuwaiti by origin. However, Article 28 of the Constitution says people are equal in honor and humanity, and they are equal before the law in rights and general duties without discrimination based on gender, origin, language and religion.
“We should not forget the directive of the late Amir to the Minister of Interior to unify the citizenship. We should also remember that the United Nations honored His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad with the humanitarian leader title. The time has now come to get rid of the prevalent phenomenon of ‘Bedoun’ which dents the image of Kuwait. Our country may be tiny in size but it commands massive international respect due to its humanitarian policies.”