‘MoI must act to track drones’

‘Iran using technology in region’

“AT NOON on March 14, 2015, a remote controlled plane was seen flying over sensitive locations around the country – even over the Seif Palace, the Cabinet Headquarters, and the National Assembly Headquarters – for 15 minutes before moving in the direction of the regional waters,” columnist and former Kuwaiti Ambassador Ahmad Al-Dawas wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“In August 2015, a small drone was seen flying over the Bayan Palace and the security authorities found the same object caught up among the palm trees in the palace garden. This drone had a built-in camera and at that time the issue raised a question mark over where it originated from, what was its destination and who launched it and why.

“On Nov 10 of the same year, another drone was seen flying over the camp of the ‘Armed Liberation Brigade’ off the road in Abdali. This drone flew over the camp for 15 minutes before it just vanished out of sight.

“However, although the camp janitors who were on duty heard the sound of the drone, they initially thought it was part of the military maneuvers and although the janitors informed the officials the drone vanished out of sight and no one pursued the object.

“Yesterday, may be for the fourth time, on Sept 14, 2019, a drone violated the Kuwaiti airspace. According to the security authorities, this drone came from the coastline and near the Al-Bida Beach at a height of 250 meters and was seen for a few minutes off Dar Salwa. The size of this drone was about three meters. Later the drone changed its course and moved in the direction of Kuwait City.

“Notwithstanding, this is a breach of the country’s security and as such we will not be surprised to hear if Iran was behind this.

“In this context, we refer to an article that was published by the American ‘Foreign Policy’ magazine on Aug 23, 2013, according to which Iran has built a base for the drones in Qasham Land which is situated adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz which has a runway of 1,600 meters and is designed to fly ‘Shahed 129’ aircraft and ‘Sareer 110H’ – the aircraft that are capable of monitoring the ships which cross the Strait of Hormuz and can fly non-stop for 24 hours.

“They are also capable of carrying missile heads and can strike ships and overland objects. The radar system of these aircraft makes them immune to collision with civilian aircraft. The US magazine said the American navy can shoot down these planes with laser cannon.

“For its part, the Bahraini Foreign Ministry, in May 2015, discovered an Iranian espionage aircraft in North Bahrain, and the Bahraini minister of interior Lieutenant General Sheikh Rashed Bin Khalifa described it as an act of aggression.

“In April 2018, one drone was seen over Al-Riyadh City, and the Saudi securitymen dealt with it according to instructions given to them.

“On Sept 14, 2019, two Saudi Aramco oil plants in Eastern Area of Abqaiq and Khorais were exposed to a terrorist attack. The attack was carried out using several drones.

“The visiting American George Town University professor Irian Tabtabaei (of Iranian origin) who is specialized in the Security Studies says Iran started the manufacture of drones in the 1980s during Iraq-Iran war, hinting that it is Iran which is currently using the same for military and civilian purposes, and both the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian regime are currently using the same.

“Apart from the above, some politicians say Iran had built a base for the drones in Djibouti for striking its opponents from the Islamists in Yemen.

“In conclusion, we hope the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior will hasten to make essential changes in how to manage the country’s overland and maritime borders in addition to controlling the vital installations and market areas of the country, because the regional situation looks extremely dangerous.”

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Al-Dawas

“A group of Iraqi politicians from time to time issue aggressive statements against us – the allegations are neither supported by international law nor endorsed by any Arab charter and they don’t respect the principles of good neighborly relations or intact diplomacy,” columnist Nayef Al-Thafiri wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“These statements continue to repeat the baseless allegations of the consecutive Iraqi regimes related to the alleged historical rights in Kuwait, sometimes alleging Kuwait has violated the Iraqi borders and denounce Kuwait’s right to build a marine installation inside Kuwait’s territorial waters, which are demarcated and internationally recognized.

“Certainly, these politicians look strange since they had never issued such statements when Turkey, for instance, built more than 35 dams on River Euphrates – the action that negatively affected the water supply to Iraq.

“The Iraqis also did not utter one word of protest and preferred to remain silent when Syria built the Al-Assad Dam along their borders. Not just that, they issued no statement when Iran sneaked into the oil fields on Majnoun Island, nor issued any statement when the Iranians crossed the Iraqi borders without travel documents.

“As a matter of fact, Kuwait, had spared no efforts putting the past – the treacherous invasion of Kuwait on Aug 2, 1990 – behind and opted to ease the torments of the Iraqis particularly those crimes committed by the consecutive regimes by drastically failing to consider the interests of Iraq and its people.

“Apart from the above, Kuwait motivated by its good morals and its generous nature of giving, made sincere efforts to persuade the donors from both the East and the West to participate in an international conference that was hosted by Kuwait to reconstruct Iraq, given the fact the Iraqi government itself had failed to organize this type of conferences. Add to this the political and financial support given by Kuwait to bring stability to Kuwait and help Iraqis bask in peace and prosperity.

“A few days ago, Iraq filed a complaint against Kuwait at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) accusing it of violating the Iraqi borders.

“However, this complaint was filed without any consultation with Kuwait and this per se confirms the uncooperative spirit and the mentality of many of the Iraqi politicians when it comes to dealing with Kuwait.”

“With the approaching winter and increasing chances of rainfall, His Highness the Prime Minister issued orders to members of his Cabinet to ensure readiness of all government agencies for the rainy season and to take all necessary measures to ensure that there will be no disaster, as it happened last year and ended with human and material losses with partial destruction of infrastructure for which we are paying the price till date,” Zayed AlZaid wrote for Annahar daily.

“According to media reports, the Cabinet reviewed reports of the Higher Committee for Follow-up of the Rainfall Problems and ordered solutions to protect the areas threatened by floods such as Sabah Al-Ahmad and Al-Khairan to avoid their negative effects.

“I believe that real readiness for the rainy season begins by fixing the mistakes of the past. The first mistake of the recent past is to restore the material rights of those affected by the rain, whose houses and cars were destroyed as some of them have been living outside their homes in rented apartments for almost a year.

“After compensating the right people, we must really solve the problem by rooting out corrupt contractors, construction companies and engineering offices involved in building streets and planning areas where catastrophic floods occurred last year, although the amounts of rain were not so great that the country would sink in just two days!

“As for me, I have been accustomed for a long time not to judge things through statements, speeches or government promises, but judged by the work I see and the percentage of achievement. I can assure that all citizens have seen the low percentage of achievement in the issue of asphalt laying, after a full year of rainy season. The streets are still broken and the gravel is flying, although we are a rich oil country that can budget enough money to pave roads not asphalt, but gold.

“The citizens today lost confidence in the statements of officials in all spheres of life within the State. The rain disaster with its catastrophe and badness provided a great service to us by exposing to Kuwaiti people that promises of officials are only consumption of letters and speech, and that the apology made by some officials after the rain crisis was to absorb the anger and vent of the people, because the real apology to citizens is to restore their rights.”

“The BBC website published on Aug 21, 2019 a report titled, ‘Kuwait is one of the wealthiest and most conservative Arab countries towards women,’ conducted by the independent Arab Barometer Research Network in late 2018 and spring 2019 to survey opinions on religion, sexual orientation and migration,” Eman Jouhar Hayat wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“Summary: What I have read is Kuwait’s decline in the empowerment of women. Is the imbalance from the government administration, the people’s representatives in the Parliament or the people?

“How can a woman who is trusted to be a minister running policy of her ministry, a parliamentarian that enacts laws, a doctor who treats patients, an engineer, a teacher, etc, does not have the most basic human rights that require equality and equal opportunities between men and women in all fields.

“The regulations of the Ministry of Health do not accept that the mother is the guardian of her children. She cannot give her children citizenship like her male counterpart and cannot easily rent a house for herself.

“We hear about the increasing talk about the empowerment of Kuwaiti women in the development plan, programs adopted by the State and the media momentum on the importance of the role of women in conferences, seminars, etc, but the reality indicates the opposite. Is there an official to explain where the imbalance lies?

“Women are still seen as incapable of holding leadership and political positions only because they are women, according to a poll. The poll also found that two-thirds of women believe that male politicians are better than women. I do not really know how they came up with this conviction while the country is battling with stories of corruption, most of which are perpetrated by men!

“Another disadvantage is the refusal of the Kuwaiti government to ask respondents in the poll a number of questions, including questions related to sexual harassment, religion, political change, mental health and violence.

“If what was published is true … I wonder is this fear or is it a kind of misinformation?

“No society, regardless of the degree of its condemnation and commitment, is free from these social, psychological and mental problems. For example, we have harassment and violence in Kuwait that are not monitored by accurate official statistics because of the fear of those affected by the stigma of a restricted society with some unjust customs and traditions that fear the eyes of others and do not care about the grief of the victim.

“Some of the articles of laws support such discrimination and degrade women, such as Article 182 of the Kuwaiti Penal Code which gives the rapist the right to escape punishment ‘if the kidnapper marries the abducted legally with the permission of her guardian.’

“I mean it is a kind of cover up on the victim of a sin she did not commit! How can this victim respect her surroundings and trust the government institution that did not protect her rights?

“The poll is a scientific way of collecting data and studying them to understand some phenomena and problems of society and try to develop proposals for appropriate solutions from a scientific and specialized point of view. Restricting that and the fear of disclosing the facts only indicate the decline and lack of credibility of the government administration to bring about radical changes without which, development is not feasible.”

“The statement issued by the Minister of Amiri Diwan on the recovery of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah from the recent health condition and reassuring tests he underwent in the United States of America delighted the hearts of all Kuwaitis, the Gulf in general and all those who love His Highness in this world. The video, which was broadcasted by Kuwait Television showing the receptions of His Highness at his residence in America, had a positive impact on the hearts of all people,” Sattam Ahmad AlJarallah wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“Never before has a leader in the modern era enjoyed this love among his people and the people in the region, even in the Arab world, from the ocean to the Gulf, as His Highness the Amir of Humanity has received the love and appreciation. Kuwait has been privileged under his wise leadership, in addition to his initiatives in bridging the rift between countries, especially the Arab and Gulf, so the great joy with which this news was received is due to the balance that Kuwait has enjoyed in the era of His Highness within the Gulf, Arab and global communities.

“Without a doubt, Kuwaitis are eagerly awaiting the return of His Highness to the homeland in order for all to march to his reception at the airport. This reception will be a true Kuwaiti wedding, because Sabah of wisdom and love, who offers Kuwaitis all good has a great place in the souls. If there is no reception befitting this status, who else deserves such a reception to express the right position of this man in the hearts of Kuwaitis?

“Praise is to Allah for the blessing of healing granted to His Highness the Amir. We pray to Allah to return the Amir back to the country safely and guide him in all endeavors. Thanks to Allah for His mercy on His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad. May Allah protect him and Kuwait from all forms of evil. We pray that the country remains the home of security and safety with its people under the wise leadership that provides daily to the world a new picture of what Kuwait can offer to humanity … Oh God, grant our prayers.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb