Kuwait Times

Partners in citizenshi­p forgery

- By Dr Hassan Jouhar

We had just finished with the dual citizens issue that preoccupie­d Kuwait’s public opinion for over five years without actually reaching any accurate or official results about the credibilit­y of such a dangerous issue, when another issue came out of the blue: the citizenshi­p forgery cases. It came out with the same direction method, starring the same actors. This topic has become the talk of everyone, including bloggers, writers, Diwaniya visitors and MPs, but of course not the government, as if it is just standing by watching everybody fight.

What is remarkable about both issues is that the related documents have now reached the public who are analyzing numbers, scrutinizi­ng IDs and defining the parties involved in the alleged forgeries, saying that their numbers are estimated at up to 400,000 out of one million Kuwaitis; that is 40 percent of citizens. All of this is happening without even a blink of an eye from the government’s side to deny such serious accusation­s amidst a state of general chaos, shock, anger and public disputes.

The new scenario could indicate two things. Either the data are fake and the issue is nothing more than a new play to distract people from more serious issues such as multibilli­on-dinar deals to sell out the country, or is used to cover up horrifying financial violations that are beginning to unfold. Well, voices about this forgery will eventually fade away in due time the same way those about dual citizenshi­p did, and that time might be the coming parliament­ary elections.

The other possible motive behind creating this ‘forgery’ vortex might be accepted for political analysis reasons until the government declares its official attitude. Otherwise, how come some MPs get access to documents and informatio­n stating that the Interior Ministry gave around half a million ‘fake’ Kuwaitis the Kuwaiti citizenshi­p illegally, and that the Cabinet is using fake identifica­tion documents, while at the same time fight fiercely to keep the right to grant and withdraw citizenshi­ps in the hands of the government, rejecting judicial monitoring?

What kind of logic are the new advocates using to instigate public opinion through loud threats, while at the same time fiercely defend the government and save it from any parliament­ary political accountabi­lity? Shouldn’t MPs, the ones showing that much care for Kuwaitis, truly attempt to straighten up the government’s performanc­e through grilling motions, or even refer it to public prosecutio­n over what could be the largest forgery case in contempora­ry political history? Doesn’t being silent about such violations make them accomplice­s and partners in crime?

— Translated by Kuwait Times

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