‘Tyrants mustn’t escape punishment’

‘Opponents of justice at work’

“A FEW days ago, was the eighteenth anniversary of the trial of the former President of Yugoslavia – nicknamed ‘The Balkan thug’ – Slobodan Milošević, on charges of genocide and war crimes, committed by him in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo,” columnist, professor at Kuwait University’s Political Science Department, an advisor to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the chairman of the Arab Fund for Human Rights Dr. Ghanim Al-Najjar wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“I attended part of the Milošević trial, which was a model for the prosecution of the modern-day dictators.

“During the trial Milošević defended himself, using all methods of political dodging, until the long trial in The Hague, the Netherlands ended when he was found dead in his cell by a heart attack in March 2006 before the verdict was issued against him.

“As a matter of fact, the idea of prosecuting tyrants remained a dream of people, who believed that impunity was a major cause of instability in societies, particularly against those who had committed crimes against humanity.

“In the wake of universal transformations, the end of the Cold War, the disappearance of states and the emergence of new states, and the return of inhuman practices, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, modest efforts began to establish special international criminal tribunals, such as the courts in Bosnia, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda. Until it was agreed during the 1998 Rome Convention to establish the International Criminal Court, to be a permanent court and bringing to an end all cases that fall within its jurisdiction.

“The Bosnian Court ended its work with imprisonment of all the accused but some of them died before the court verdict was issued and the same can be said of the Court of Sierra Leone, the last of which was the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, which also I was able to attend – historical event in May 2012, when he was sentenced to fifty years in prison in Scotland.

“The wheel of prosecution of tyrants is continuing, and the files in the international criminal prosecution tell stories of injustice and suffering everywhere, despite their slowness, despite their overlapping with politics, and the enmity of hostility towards them from strong opponents.

“In this context, we refer to the initial acceptance of the investigation into the Israel violations which come at the Palestinian request.

“For its part, the Sudanese government’s consent to the extradition of the former Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir to the International Court of Justice shall open the door wide to condemn the Myanmar army in view of its inhuman crimes committed against the Muslims.

“The formula of the Rome Convention, which created the International Criminal Court, was not ideal, but rather included major breaches, taking into account the power and influence of those openly hostile to international justice, led by the United States, Israel, and most of the Arab countries, among others.

“However, the success achieved on the ground and the reality, despite their slow pace, call for more work to prevent tyrants from escaping punishment, particularly since we know that the opponents of justice will continue to impede them, despite their claims to the contrary, and it does not seem that their position will change in the foreseeable future.”

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Dr. Al-Najjar

“One of the visitors to the Diwaniya said with cynicism: ‘You are tired of talking about Palestine and the rights of its people, while the Palestinians have deserted it and sold it to the Jews’,” columnist and the deputy chairman of the Islamic Heritage Revival Society (IHRS) Dr. Wael Al-Hassawi wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“Bu Mohammad vehemently responded by saying, ‘You do not know anything about the reality, because the Palestinians did not sell their land to the Jews, but rather stood firm and fought for it from 1948 until today, and if they had not done so, their cause would have ended and the Jews would have confiscated all their lands.

“Indeed, there are thousands of Palestinians who are stationed daily inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent the Jews from occupying it, and you see them taking turns, so where did you get the story of the Palestinians that they are fleeing from their homes, Bu Mohammad asked.

“Of course, many Palestinians have been displaced from their land and some of them have become reluctant to stay out of Palestine, but the question here is can we blame the Kuwaitis who fled from the heathenish Iraqi invasion of the State of Kuwait and deny that a great percentage of them were determined to remain put in the country who resisted the occupation?

“I am happy with Mahmoud Abbas – the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) – for rejecting the alleged ‘deal of the century’, and confronting the moves of the US President Donald Trump, and his advisor Jared Kushner, and the Zionist lobby, in spite of his (Abbas) speech at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to issue an international resolution condemning the said deal.

“This happened although Abbas was aware of the US attitude which is biased against Palestine, as such Abbas, had threatened to resort to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

“The truth is that the greatest mockery lies in enabling five colonial countries to control the fate of the world through an unjust veto system, a system that these people put in place to cover their shame during World War II, and after they destroyed the world and killed tens of millions, and rewarded themselves by dividing the world between them, while destroyed the world and killed tens of millions of people during the said war.

“The mistake of the PNA president is in his statement that East Jerusalem is the capital of the next state of Palestine, while West Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, although he knows that he does not have the right to surrender the land of Muslims to the Jews, just as this humiliating concession will not satisfy them, but they want all of Palestine for them and this is the title of Trump’s plan.”

“Yes, Bou Ali, son of Kuwait, you have demonstrated with all professionalism and merit that your heart and conscience carry the cause of a homeland subjected for some time to a systematic clip, creep and occupation process before the hearts and eyes of all governments, nation’s parliaments, and so-called elites, blocs, and political forces without any of them making a move,” Saud Al-Samakah wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“This is happening in spite of the clarity of the coming danger and its target to occupy the aspirations and hopes of children and grandchildren in a safe homeland that provides them decent life given by our parents and grandparents who challenged hunger, disease and aggression of invasions to develop this homeland without water or plantation.

“They pushed hard their efforts, sweat and souls to make it a paradise on earth – by the grace of Allah. It has become a country of peace, harmony, tolerance and love, and a homeland of security and stability. The nation opened its arms and heart to those who migrate from different parts of the world to live safe, and enjoy human dignity, befitting living standard while supporting their families in this country. In this corner, we stand with those who work for the benefit of the country and its people, and those who surround its security and stability with the fence of sovereignty stemming from the national identity.

“Today, His Excellency the Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim, through his speech in the National Assembly, indicated the extent of absurdity that made the file of Kuwaiti citizenship swollen with cases of fraud. It is an unprecedented initiative that hits the nail directly with boldness and courage on this file without beating about the bush at a time when people are bidding on the file of the so-called “Bedoun” in the shops of so-called human rights to embarrass the state and pave the way for anybody to claim being a Bedoun under the state’s umbrella.

“They planned to be equated with Kuwaiti citizens in all rights and implicate the country with an undue obligation. It is through this commitment that the state opens the door to hell on itself and its people, where every fraudster hides his documents and claims to be Bedoun in order to enjoy the privileges a Kuwaiti citizen enjoys.

“Today, I wish to tell you Marzouq Al-Ghanim that I do not have to flatter anyone at the expense of my homeland. As a citizen in kindness and human dignity to all citizens of this globe, without favor and no harm, you broke the silence in this file that lasted for several decades; a snowball that turned and rolled until they were able to reach decision-making positions on leading security posts that are extremely secretive and dangerous. Rather, they became our deputies in the National Assembly and heads of security committees, which included the personality behind the proposal for naturalizing four-thousand Bedouns every year without anyone turning a blind eye to government”.

“Therefore, I salute you, and I am sure, whoever his heart is for this country will share this opinion with me for the sake of future of their children and grandchildren. Oh Speaker of the National Assembly, God knows that if you have not done anything throughout this legislative term, your push for this file related to national identity that is subject to the kidnapping of a homeland, which is a right for our children and our grandchildren, by exposing them to expulsion, is more than suffice. This is because you have raised the alarm and stirred the stagnant water for this file that nobody among your predecessors in this position dared venture into. God willing, everyone who falsely claimed to be Bedoun has been uprooted and they are the majority of this category.”

“Information leaks and talks here and there about the plan of the government to reform the economy, and that the government has started launching its reform plan following the issuance of the statement by Minister of Finance about the biggest deficit in the history of Kuwait”, Dr Anwar Al-Shuraian wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“Social media and some newspapers circulated news about the features of the government’s reform plan; but of course, they are not new. They are just attempts to alleviate the state of the economic situation temporarily like how someone would take excessive painkillers to relieve the pain of his illness without working on treating the causes of the disease. Temporary painkillers will inevitably lead to the worsening of the disease until it reaches the stage where these diseases cannot be treated.

“The government approach has not changed – some problem occurs and it immediately seeks solutions from companies and international institutions which provide canned solutions that have succeeded in one country but failed in others. As soon as a person from the government emerges calling for a solution produced by local minds, the attention shifts to “economic men” as they are called here. “Solutions come from a non-specialized person who calls for abolishing subsidies, privatizing or merging bodies, or dismantling ministries. Of course, those who we call “economic men” who are in charge of solving the problems of the state are either “businessmen” or speculators in the stock market or from the banking sector or a former government official. Of course, each of them will provide solutions based on his understanding and interest. Just like how a sheep herder sees the need to support the livestock, the trader believes the solution lies in privatization and the support of the private sector. The owner of restaurants wants Kuwait to become the capital of restaurants.

“The level of deterioration that our economy has reached today as well as the budget deficit is a direct result of the government’s random and failure decisions since five years, such as canceling fuel and diesel subsidies and raising the cost of electricity for some sectors.

“A crime committed for years in Kuwait requires a treatment from a doctor who is not a specialist or not a doctor at all, just like someone seeking a dental treatment from an orthopedic doctor or someone who wants a pharmacist to prescribe him glasses or someone seeking an ophthalmologist to treat him of diabetes.”

“There is a clear confusion in the government concerning the Bedoun file. The most recent manifestation of this confusion is the statement made by the Kuwaiti delegation in the Human Rights Council two weeks ago during the third “universal periodic review” of the record of the State of Kuwait in terms of supporting and protecting human rights. In that statement, the delegation said the definition of the term “stateless” in the 1954 International Convention concerning the Status of Stateless Persons does not apply to the Bedoun residents in Kuwait”, Dr Abdullatif bin Nakhi wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“The Kuwaiti national report submitted for third review was well prepared and informative. It was prepared with strenuous efforts by the permanent committee in charge of preparing national reports for international human rights bodies. The preparation of the report was headed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and involved consultations with NGOs and Parliament’s Human Rights Committee as well as the National Office for Human Rights. Unfortunately, it does not refer explicitly to the Bedoun file, despite its importance at the international level.

“The report prepared by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding Kuwait included references to the Bedoun file particularly a sub-paragraph titled “Stateless” in which it stated that the Human Rights Commission has concerns about a number of matters including the slow granting of Kuwaiti citizenship to Bedoun residents, and the status of Bedoun residents who are not registered and are unable to obtain appropriate civil documents and social services.

“This clearly indicates that Bedoun affairs are monitored by the international community even if we avoid referring to them in our national reports. The international community considers them stateless, but we have convinced ourselves that they are illegal residents.

“The international community knows very well that we – the government and the people - have been calling them “Bedoun” for many years, and if we tried in recent years to erase that label from our political dictionary, the international community still calls them Bedoun in its correspondences and reports.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb