‘Basic commodities falling short’

‘Iran turmoil bigger than it seems’

“THE Iranian spiritual leader Ali Khamenei says, ‘Compared to what is currently happening in Arab states – riots and turmoil – the situation in Iran is different, because Iran is strong and stable,’” columnist and former Kuwaiti ambassador Ahmad Al-Dawas wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“But on June 7, 2017 while some people in Tehran were paying a visit to the tomb of the leader of the Iranian Revolution Ayatollah Al-Khomeini and that of former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a female suicide bomber claimed the lives of at least eight people.

“At the same time, Iran witnessed another attack on the Iranian Shura Council (parliament). This attack was carried out by known people and resulted in the death of seven people and left behind many injured and others were taken as hostages.

“For their part, the Iranians were wondering what happened and why the rulers had not taken any action to prevent the two attacks. As a matter of fact, the two above attacks sent ‘a strong message’ and put tremendous pressure on the Iranian government. This could be spelled as a challenge to the government.

“It is needless to say that we never insult individuals or a state, rather we are concerned about the analysis of the reality of the peoples, and as such we would like here to give here only some examples.

“On Feb 6, 2013, the Iranian writer Ali Reza Nader in an interview with the American newspaper ‘Herald Tribune’ said, ‘The rulers of Iran don’t fear the military strike from the West, rather they fear the internal anger.’

“At the end of 2017, Mashhad city of Iran witnessed demonstrations in protest against the government mismanagement, unemployment, corruption and the sky rocketing prices of commodities. Not just that, the demonstrators shouted ‘death for Rouhani (the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani), death to dictator; no for Gaza; no for Lebanon; and my life is for Iran’.

“Not just that, thousands of Iranian Muslims converted to Christianity. In this context, the Turkish writer Mustafa Akyoul wrote for the ‘The New York Times’ newspaper on March 25, 2018 an article under the title ‘Some Iranians hate their Theocratic Regime and Embraced Christianity”. He also said ‘millions of Iranians had been disappointed by the Islamic Republic’.

“The writer Borzou Daragahi published an article in the British ‘The Independent Newspaper’ under the title ‘Iran requests its people to spy against each other and inform the powers about who is not wearing the veil, drink alcohol and attend parties’. However, personally, I prefer not to mention some of the deviant behaviors.

“Meanwhile, the writer Krishnadev Calamur penned an article for the American ‘Atlantic Newspaper’ in the mid-2018 in which he said, ‘The economic problem in Iran, cannot be attributed to the US sanctions, rather this problem was caused by tremendous spending on the Iranian intervention in Syria and Yemen in addition to financing Hezbollah and Hamas and other armed groups in the Middle East.’

“He further added these expenditures are of course too costly and this was behind people coming out on the streets decrying government performance and the religious institution. Moreover, they shouted ‘No to Gaza … No to Lebanon … Death to Palestine … Step down the dictator’.

“The writer also said, ‘The ruling regime gave priority to the revolutionary agenda at the expense of the people’s luxury and this placed Iran on the a long road of turmoil and riot.’

“Notwithstanding, this tremendous spending abroad had resulted in the Iranians suffering from difficult circumstances in addition to many other social difficulties and low standard of living (we don’t want to mention them here).

“However, forty years have passed fosince the Iranian revolution, but the standard of living of the Iranians has not become good and according to some analysts the US sanctions have created a shortage of the medicines and basic commodities and the rate of inflation has soared. All this has made the Iranians yearning for the days of the former Shah.

“In this context, an Iranian told the foreign press that the Iranians pass through a difficult and persistent state of standard of living, hinting that the Iranians have to stand in queue to get some basic commodities such as rice, food and oil.

“On Nov 5, 2019, the Iranian government increased the price of gasoline, but it did not expect that this decision will backfire and evoke protests throughout the country, because this decision hurt millions of people who are already suffering because of difficult circumstances and high inflation in addition to a high rate of unemployment.

“The demonstrations developed into ransacking the government buildings and oil stations and damaged public properties. The protestors called for the downfall of the President Rouhani and the spiritual leader in addition to burning effigies of religious leaders and the government reacted strongly and shut down the internet. The securitymen also used strong hand tactics and this resulted in the death of about 200 Iranians in 21 cities.”

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Al-Dawas

“It is obvious that the revolutions of the Arab Spring and the moves that followed against rampant corruption in the political and intellectual circles of the Arab world took in its stride the issue of the fiasco of the Political Islam project of both Sunnis and Shiites,” columnist Suad Fahd Al-Moejel wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“In this context, we say in every scenario in the Arab world, we have observed how the demonstrators were carrying slogans rejecting any shape of religious domination in the political decision and this happened in countries which did not witness street demonstrations or in the public squares and this was obvious and clear cut particularly in the Gulf states.

“However, some people may say that the retreat of Political Islam can be attributed to its deficit as a current to propound the necessary political programs capable of attracting the people.

“For their part, other currents although they did not provide enough they had proved that they are workable and nearer to the reality compared to the programs and slogans of Political Islam except the experiment of the Islamic political current in the Arab North Africa where these states attempted to reconcile between the religious thought which these groups believed in and the political thought of the state.

“With the exception of this experiment, we say the experiments of Political Islam in other Arab states had failed to keep abreast with the requirements of the phases which the Arab world was passing through in general and the current one in particular.

“However, the Arab proverb says ‘Every era has its own statesmen,’ but it looks like Political Islam, is not prepared for the current era.”

“Kuwait International Book Fair, which is being held from November 20-30, is moving on wonderfully well, starting with the selection of the special guest for the international fair similar to other fairs within the Arab world and global community”, Abdulaziz Khuraibet wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“The National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has deemed it fit to make the United Kingdom its first guest of honor, which is unprecedented in the history of Kuwait’s international fairs. This will be sustained for several years to come. It has been explained that the United Kingdom was made the guest of honor in the book fair to mark the 120-year anniversary of Kuwait-British friendship.

“This year, we have not seen groups that specialize in freedoms by gathering to raise banners against Ministry of Information and freedom of writers. They are probably tired and fed up! We are truly in support of banning and preventing many books from being sold at the fair due to the belief that ideology is the most dangerous weapon. We also understand that the issue is not about the banned books but networks and organizations, the poisonous ideologies of which are being promoted. Even at that, some publishing houses and bookshops violate the law by selling banned books under the table!”

“Our experiences with successive governments have not been optimistic. Kuwait’s situation for half a century could be described as ‘continuously declining’ in all political, social and economic indicators of nations, due to bad choice, the increasing number of adversaries and the corrupt people who accumulate wealth at the expense of the nation and real development,” columnist Ali Muhammad Al-Baddah wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“If we look at our situation now, we are angry, sad, and disappointed. The corrupted persons have succeeded in defeating our dreams from the time Kuwait became independent from the British protection, proclaiming the country’s constitution and launching a system that was truly democratic, where freedom would prevail and loyalty among the competent people advance and built on the foundations of justice, quality and sophistication in all areas of life.

“But what happened after the first reform steps all dreams evaporated with the rigging of the second parliamentary elections, the continuation of the approach of manipulating the Constitution and the rights of the people and the invention of all possible methods to take away the right of the people in a free nation instead of defending the rights of the citizens, and monitor the performance of the executive authority, and introducing legislation that raises the ceiling of freedoms, development of the country, strengthening national unity and confronting corruption.

“During the past half century the situation has been worsening with each new ministry, perhaps the worst attempt was to destroy the Constitution and the National Assembly as we paid of scandal and that was the beginning of a new era of corruption in which the assets of the powerful and the hypocrites were inflated at the expense of the nation and its health.

“A different government may come, and the prime minister-designate may succeed in choosing competent ministers, but what will give us optimism is the approach that will be followed, the seriousness with which the files of corruption will be handled taking into consideration the future of Kuwait.

“We have learned from past experience that we have duplication in administration, conflicting decisionmaking, and congestion among powers. Will the prime minister-designate resolve this situation?”

“Kuwaiti society since the beginning of the oil boom has lived on its income directly or indirectly through oil budget, and enjoys spending the income with the least effort to earn from other sources. In fact, they are not interested in generating revenue through taxation while the most essential services are provided for free,” columnist Hamed Al-Seif wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“To continue the present non-economic way of life, we are heading towards the unknown. Almost every category and social class is complaining despite the opulence found in this country, which is not normal at all, because it is rare to see people grumbling about the cost of life at the time when the most basic needs and wants are provided by the State.

“The solution in this case is to follow the natural economic path based on justice, equality and equal opportunities, and put the right person in the right place. All these features are embedded in our forgotten constitution, while many screaming articles are not implemented in our lives and our decisions.

“We live in a dream and we do not know its end until oil runs out and an alternative is not found. The situation must not be left to dominate us, we must wake up and think and return to reason with a sound economic foundation for our current and future life. We should take control of the situation.

“This spontaneous article comes from the heart and it applies to everyone in this country, so let’s be cautious of the future risks we are in. May Allah the Almighty make us fit for the good of our beloved country and assist us to achieve the best in our endeavors.”

“After the resignation of the government, various statements were made about the reasons behind this resignation, and whether something else was not announced. However, it is certain that people can no longer tolerate corruption which reached the bone and led the country to an unprecedented deterioration,” columnist Waleed Al-Rujaib wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“The National Assembly also deviated from its democratic path and representation of the interests of the people. This Assembly became a tool for serving the interests of its members. Its role is limited to serving the electorate through the accomplishment of transactions, and some to enrich themselves, which made them partners in disrupting the country’s progress, obstructing development projects, and contributing to restriction of freedom.

“The reason that led the country to general deterioration is the government’s ineffective approach in selecting its members through the quota system – selection of officials who are not at the level of responsibility and inefficient. Appointment of leaders in ministries is done based on ‘wasta’ (influence) and to the satisfaction of MPs due to fear of interpellation.

“The solution begins with a new approach to management of the country’s affairs, return to the one-vote law, political and economic reforms, implementation of the Constitution, punishing the corrupt and holding them accountable, recovering the stolen money of the people, and embarking on development that ensures progress and prosperity.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb