‘National dialogue is a symbol of frankness, reconciliation, reasoning’
“THERE is no writer, political analyst, deputy, tweeter or philosopher left but to talk about the national dialogue, which was launched by the HH the Amir of the country, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad, a few days ago between the executive and legislative authorities,” columnist Waleed Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“There are those who were right when they looked at the popular and government demands with an eye of fairness and balance in their dialogue and there are those who went too far when they looked at the dialogue with one eye related to their personal demands and torpedoing all the issues of the country.
“The issues raised today for debate are many and varied, perhaps the most prominent of them are: amnesty for those living in Turkey and detainees because of their tweets and others in opinion cases, freedoms and cybercrime laws, depriving the abuser from exercising his political right, the one-vote system and the election law, not touching the future generations fund, Kuwait’s 2035 vision and Silk City, finding an alternative source of income for oil, financial and administrative corruption, theft of the country’s money and many others.
“The opposition leaders today, when raising popular issues, should not fulfill their demands at the expense of the country’s main issues. For example, it is illogical for an agreement to pardon those living in kind of self exile in return for immunizing the position of the Prime Minister from political accountability represented by interrogation.
“Therefore, a fair balance must be found between the demands of the National Assembly deputies without bidding and the demands of a just government so that one side does not dominate the other.
“Perhaps the most prominent of those issues in our perception that will enhance the stability of the country, amnesty for the ‘displaced’ and those with opinion and firmness with transparency in stopping the theft of the country by sheikhs, merchants or the ordinary citizens and expatriates, and the recovery of the looted money so that the process does not become a (game) for thieves, rob the country and then escape or go to prison for a year or two or three and then live freely to enjoy the looted money without restrictions”
“The national dialogue is a dialogue of frankness, reconciliation and response to reason.”
“Do we have the ability to accept differences in various aspects of life, and deal with those differences,” columnist Tariq Al-Darbas wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“The proverb says, ‘A difference of opinion need not spoil friendship’ or a difference of opinion in a matter does not spoil friendly relations has been said by us repeatedly. It is common to us and old, but we must ask whether we really believe in it?
“In practical life, as soon as differences begin, we find that they turn into disagreements, fierce wars and settling scores to break the bones of one another, without a serious pursuit of understanding, containment, coordination and cooperation. In political life, as soon as the differences surface, and in the absence of a culture of dialogue, and the circulation of rumors, intimidation, treason we start beating below the belt, and the biggest winners are those who are waiting for these differences and those who feed on them to develop, and the biggest loser is the homeland and the citizen.
“We live these days, anticipating the outcome of the lofty call for national dialogue between the executive and the legislature. We are optimistic of the promising results, especially since the issue at hand is of amnesty for our displaced brothers living in Turkey.
“It is not strange to see successive attacks and repeated attempts to end the dialogue before it begins, and an attempt to thwart it, as there are those who only survive on crises and feel happy to see the pain of others.
“This invitation was met with a veiled rejection by some, attacking its participants and questioning its results before it began. I think that the most important thing that took place in these dialogue sessions is their secrecy and the lack of disclosure of the outcome of their meetings and we say ‘all is well that ends well’, God willing.
“We must take advantage of this experience with its positives and negatives in promoting a culture of dialogue to solve many problems and outstanding issues in our society.
“Undoubtedly, the most important and most powerful means of managing disputes is purity of intention and a sincere desire to achieve the public interest, and stay away from the culture of treason, which will only produce humiliation and loss for all.
“The government administration and oversight bodies are incapable of curbing and eliminating corruption and the corrupt have neither patriotic items in their agenda nor any desire to serve the country’s supreme interest by eradicating corruption,” columnist Hamed Al-Saif wrote for Annahar daily.
“How do we get rid of this devastating epidemic in the country? What is the country’s best interest?
“These are legitimate and right questions on the future of this nation in terms of eliminating corruption and the corrupt. The government is not serious about fighting corruption, considering corruption lived and thrived in the same government departments.
“The correct way to eradicate corruption is to change the government administration under which corruption has nested. This is in addition to bringing a new, serious administration and then give it full powers to eradicate corruption without the interference of any of the influential figures.
“The State must take a difficult decision — change the permissive approach and thought which contributes to the spread of corruption and then pump new blood to manage the eradication of corruption.”
“How long will Kuwait University remain without a director? Is it difficult to choose a director out of 1,560 faculty members at the university?” columnist Dr Naji Al-Zaid wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“Has the director selection committee completed its work and submitted the names of three candidates to the government, which might suggest that the delay was caused by the government’s reluctance to make the appropriate selection?
“Questions like these and others are raised by many segments – some are academic, others are political and perhaps purely social, so the appropriate decision must be taken to nominate the new director of the university.
“The upcoming period in university education is critical due to resentment over the university’s rank falling to a degree that may lead to its complete disappearance from the international rankings in recognized indexes of universities.
“The university continued to operate without a director for a long time, an era that everyone thought would be temporary, but it may remain so for a longer period unless the matter is resolved.”