‘Turkish move to weaken Kurds’
‘Erdogan out to protect vote-bank’
“THE Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always wanted to uphold the rule of law, though his positions fluctuate according to events; but he always wants to protect his political future as we can see. When the Syrian revolution broke out, he supported the rebels against the Syrian regime to gain popularity among the Turks, and then allowed the influx of Syrian refugees into his country,” columnist and former ambassador Ahmad Al-Dawas wrote for Al-Seyassah.
“When Turks are bothered by the crowding of refugees in their country, and the Turkish economic situation is troubled, Erdogan lost municipal elections in early 2019. In order to woo his people and to make up for his loss in election, Erdogan came up with the idea of expelling the refugees and sheltering them on the Syrian lands after the occupation of its north, that is to say by sending the Turkish army to occupy northern Syria and penetrate into its territory 30 to 40 km and about 460 km wide.
“Indeed, his army entered on Octo 9 and violated the sovereignty of Syrian territory, and committed murder and mayhem against the Syrian people, whether Kurdish or Arab, and these are war crimes without a doubt.
“The Turkish army is currently displacing and killing children, the elderly and the unarmed people. In addition to this blatant interference against the sovereignty of a state, this army is committing murder against civilians to establish a shelter for Syrian refugees after their expulsion from Turkey.
“Erdogan threatens Europe that he will send refugees to their countries if they opposed his plan, making Europe protest and describe his behavior as blackmail, all of this to gain the support of the Turks so that his throne would not shake.
“All the signs indicated that the northern Syrian region is relatively stable, but Ankara’s actions have made it turbulent and the situation is dangerous. For many years, the Kurds lived in security, and when they fought the regime in Syria, they hoped for autonomy for them.
“Those who follow up the Syria issue will find that half of Syria’s north-east is under Kurdish control, the other half is in the hands of the regime, Syrian rebels are in a small area, and the Islamic State terrorist group occupies smaller spots.
“The Turkish president wants to change the ethnic mix in the region to weaken the power of the Kurds, who have been demanding an autonomous region within the Turkish state, and does not know that the expulsion of millions of Syrian Arab refugees to the areas of the Kurdish majority in Syria ignite Kurdish-Arab tensions, and fuel the conflict between them in the region after a state of security and stability, resulting in massive displacement of the population.
“The US strategy in Syria will be hit hard because it was dependent on the Kurds to prevent the return of the terrorist organization ‘IS’, but the Turkish invasion created chaos, one of the explosions destroyed a prison and elements from ISIS terrorist organization escaped, and there is a possibility of re-organizing its ranks.
“Here we have the right to ask: Will Turkey accept the Bulgarian army to enter its territory and abuse its people, destroy buildings in Istanbul, or the Russian army to enter in northern Turkey and do the same?
“Before the Turkish invasion of Syria, and after a call with Erdogan, Trump decided to withdraw all US troops from Syria in December, which prompted US Secretary of Defense James Mattis to resign, and Trump’s position caused confusion among Turkish officials who thought they had an agreement with the US president and green light to strike the Kurds on the Syrian territory.
“The Turkish invasion has been condemned by all countries, except Qatar, which supported it, and some European countries threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey.
“Erdogan’s rule has suffered a setback at home, so he took this step and does not care about the further chaos and suffering inside Syria.
“I personally was insulted by the Turkish consul last summer, although I am a former Kuwaiti ambassador carrying an official paper from the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry, and the embassy did not pacify me even by an apology call, or a civilized word.
“I have a complete file on the Turkish issue, and know the repression of the authorities to the freedom of expression and abuse of journalists, and that imprisonment and the prevention of entry into the country is the fate of those who criticize the Turkish regime.
“So please include my name on the list of those who are banned from entering Turkey, because I always preferred to travel to civilized European countries.”
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“Recently, the term ‘parachute’ has emerged as a popular expression of dissatisfaction with recent government appointments. I therefore propose changing this term and replacing it with ‘drones’, and this should be added to the achievements of our ‘wise’ government which is determined to keep abreast with the technological development and demonstrate the ability of influential people to get their preferred persons hired in senior positions faster than the parachute,” columnist Faisal Al-Sharifi wrote for Al-Jarida.
“The social networking sites and some newspapers have published news reports about the government intention to carry out a limited ministerial change involving three or four ministers as a precautionary measure to counter parliamentary escalation. This action is likely aimed at calming the situation and ensuring the government/Parliament relationship remains intact and the two authorities complete the term of office.
“It is certain the next parliamentary session will see a flurry of activity between the Council of Ministers and some parliamentarians especially those who feel their reelection chances are not very bright because of their poor performance at the supervisory level and their failure in the legislature, not to mention the reports in the social media that some of them have accumulated unjustified wealth.
“Investing this escalation may be an opportunity for the prime minister, who has promised on more than one occasion to hold accountable any person who is incapable of keeping up with the government work programs. Here we have to stop because those who deserve to be relieved from office are far more than three ministers, add to this dozens of others who occupy senior positions in all ministries even after their failure to perform the tasks given to them.
“The problem of government performance is not limited to ministers, but to the system of appointments, which is always subject to the quota system and satisfaction and repetition of the same names by rehabilitating them and appointing them in other positions, as if the government atones for its mistake or owes them thanks, or is really unable to look beyond their nose.
“The road is too long to reform this National Assembly which has not moved an inch on the issues that exceed the size of the Dow contract, and the inflated assets of deputies, and the issue published in social media for the famous bid for the city buildings, and what happens to the Vietnam refinery, not to mention the failure to recover what was taken by the former general director of Public Institute for Social Security (PIFSS) who lives freely in Britain.
“The honest citizen can no longer talk about corruption and its symbols after the law of the audio-visual instilled fear in his heart and imposed secrecy on the decisions associated with it.”
“It is obvious that some mobs cannot shake the KuwaitJordan relationship that has developed over the past two decades to very high levels, and is based on mutual respect between the two peoples. Enough of the three statements issued by the House of Representatives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Jordanian Football Federation, to fold the page of a few mobs who wanted to create confusion at a football event par excellence,” Fahad Dawood Al-Sabah wrote for Al-Nahar daily.
“Historically, Kuwait has dealt with such kind of issues with great elevation. It puts things in perspective, and does not confuse the action sought by some groups in order to tarnish its image with the facts produced by the relations between countries. It is therefore enough to see the massive condemnation from citizens and media in response to the noises raised by a politically oriented group of well-known blocs seeking to tear relations between brothers, because those blocs live only on discrimination, not on fraternity and cohesion.
“Jordan is bigger than these childish acts, and the official and popular reaction expressed this.
“Kuwaiti media’s negligence of this incident, which expressed the approach of some of irrational people, indicates the elevation enjoyed by Kuwait, the long-term view of its foreign policy and how its relations with the brothers are not affected by the storm in a very small cup, as happened during the match between Kuwait and Jordan in the World Cup qualifiers.
“What we need at this stage, in Kuwait and Jordan as well as all the Arab countries, is to work on establishing a realistic basis for relations among countries based on differentiating between the personal motivations of some political blocs and national interest. This can be achieved only by participatory construction and not through elements of discrimination.
“Everyone in the Arab world need each other. Each state, based on its potential, can do what serves others and thus achieve integration among them all.
“It is true that this will not be without some disturbances or the voices of mobs who will try to use all the negatives to serve their goals in preventing the establishment of this relationship, in order to employ them for the benefit of their project, but that should not prevail over the language of reason and common interests.
“Relations between the Arab countries in the past years were based on the reaction of the leader or the ruler and the president, and were not based on common interests. We have seen the divide prevail since the establishment of the Arab League, which was based on a selfish tendency initially aimed at leading the Arab world by a person, and aiming to establish Arab caliphate after the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate.
“I mean here the owner of the project of the Arab League King Farouk, but this institution has now turned into a platform representing everyone.
“At the same time, it has resulted in a set of complementary agreements, some of which were not implemented unfortunately, although it continued institutional work. It is true that everyone seeks to be more powerful and the effectiveness in the European Union-style, but the political negatives existing prevent that. However, it does not prevent the continuation of work in order to eliminate those negatives.
“Based on this fact, what we need in the Arab world is to, as mentioned above, build on the participants in order to get out of the tunnel, and not to make the demagogic voices louder than the voice of reason and logic. I salute the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, who expressed Kuwait’s position rationally and in a balanced manner in commitment to the fraternal relationship with Jordan.
“Tribute to the House of Representatives, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Jordanian Football Federation for this position, which reflects the depth of relations between the two countries and peoples.”
“All the banks in civilized countries are ready to provide loans as long as the guarantee is available. If you ask any bank manager about the best debtor, he will say it is the one who asks for a loan when he is not in need for money,” Dr Naji Saoud Al-Zaid wrote for Aljarida daily.
“This is what is happening in Kuwait. It will happen in the Public Institution for Social Security where some MPs impose pressure. The government hints that loans of almost ten times the salary will be provided. There are some suggestions to increase the loan amount to almost 16 times the salary.
“The value of such loans is expected to hit KD 12 billion if most of the retirees and employees apply for loans. This calculation was carried out by one of the founders of Public Institution of Social Security who is a former MP and former minister. He highlighted the dangerous consequences of enforcing such step in a society that is fond of extravagance and spending huge money on commodities.
The calculations did not mention the consequence that I expect to happen within five to ten years.
“I expect a campaign to be conducted by a number of MPs to call for lifting the loans provided by Public Institution of Social Security. If my expectation comes true, the victims will be the subscribers at Public Institution of Social Security, either the current ones or those who will subscribe in the future.
“In conclusion, I want to say that the money of social security is the property of the subscribers. The expenditure of this money is nothing but frivolity.”
“Today, we have the so-called ‘animal sacrifice’ provided for electoral purposes. The recent headline of Al-Qabas daily was ‘Social Security … electoral animal sacrifice’,” columnist Khalid Ahmad Al-Tarrah wrote for al-Qabas daily.
“The headline reflects the reality we live in, and we’ll not to take the issue lightly. We see our government yielding to requests made by the MPs against the interests of future generations. The Public Authority for Social Security and other official institutions are neck deep in blackmail to meet popular election demands.
“We all agree that the fortune of the state has fallen to electoral interests. The most important question is: who bears the responsibility for such political slackness? Is it Minister of Finance Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf? For sure, Al-Hajraf and other ministers are to blame due to their silence over such strange incidents.
“There is no doubt that the decision maker is not the Secretariat General of Cabinet or the ministers. The Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak is supposedly responsible as he’s head of the Cabinet and endorses programs. The criticism nowadays is directed towards government as regards the concessions it provides. Is it logical for one minister to impose decisions that affect the fortune of the State?
“I continue to enjoy friendly relations with His Highness Prime Minister even after he became the Prime Minister but I believe that friendship must be kept aside while discussing major issues that affect the entire country and handle them with transparency.”
— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli