‘Joint GCC effort needed to end rift’

‘Leaders must follow Kuwaiti Amir’s steps’

“EVERYBODY attaches hopes to the Kuwaiti role to find an appropriate solution to the current differences among some of the Arabian Gulf countries,” columnist Abdulmohsen Mohammad Al-Husseini wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“In this context, all senior officials in the US, Europe and the Arab world have expressed their confidence in the efforts exerted by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad to settle the differences among the GCC member states.

“In this regard, the last statement which was issued by the UN Secretary-General in a message sent to HH the Amir, the former has expressed his gratitude and deep appreciation for the efforts exerted by the Amir for the sake of achieving reconciliation and put their current differences past them.

“HH the Amir has responded saying he will continue his efforts to arrange a fraternal meeting to be attended by the GCC leaders for consultation in addition to holding a fraternal dialogue to discuss the differences and work to achieving the necessary convergence among the viewpoints in a prelude to achieve the targeted reconciliation among the GCC states.

“Now, we suggest the other GCC countries must strive to achieve convergence among them, provided the latter stop issuing critical statements accusing each other.

“Apart from the above, these states must respond to the efforts exerted by the good offices of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad who has conse- crated all his efforts to surmount the differences and achieve convergence among the relevant GCC states.

“As a matter of fact, the peoples of the Arabian Gulf are eagerly looking forward to the efforts of HH the Amir to create the necessary atmosphere that will be rife with fraternity and love among the officials of the Arabian Gulf countries in order to resume normal relations which prevailed prior to the current crisis and eventually help us continue our efforts to support the development programs in all fields within the GCC member states.

“Meanwhile, we say all our brothers — the citizens of the GCC countries — are affected by the differences among some GCC member states. They say the GCC officials are in a position to reach a satisfactory solution to clear these differences.

“In this context, we would like to say the solidarity and the might of the Gulf Cooperation Council is of imperative importance, particularly under the current circumstances which prevail in several countries of the world.

“Such being the case, we suggest our current age is one of solidarity and cooperation because the GCC countries over the years have proved the robustness of their cooperation and unity and this means all of us must hasten to maintain this robustness to enable the GCC to march forward for the sake of boosting renaissance among the Arabian Gulf countries in various economic, social and political fields.

“Certainly, the current differences if they persist will weaken the cohesion of the GCC member states, hence, we suggest the leaders of GCC member states should hold a meeting in an atmosphere of love, fraternity and cooperation to surmount their current differences and guarantee the unity and march of the GCC member states.

“In conclusion, I hope all GCC leaders in this connection will keep abreast with the keenness of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, who has consecrated all his efforts for the sake of protecting the bond and cooperation among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. We pray to Almighty Allah to guide us and shower on us prosperity.”

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Al-Husseini

“The Arabian Gulf countries are at the moment passing through the most difficult and dangerous circumstances that can be deemed as the first of their kind since the ‘birth’ of these countries,” columnist Mubarak Al-Ajmi wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“In the past these countries had managed to surmount difficult circumstances in addition to the confronting some regional greediness to such an extent ‘some’ forces had failed to shake the cohesion and solidarity of these countries.

“But what is currently happening among sister countries, cannot be understood by the human mind and this is evident through the war of words among some of them which have reached an unprecedented level. Hence, we wonder what the objective is of sowing the seeds of grudge and hatred among us, and for whose benefit?

“It is needless to say the unity of the Gulf is in danger at the moment unless all parties listen to the voice of reason and wisdom contained in the mediation of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him.

“In this context, we say all of us have followed the recent visit of His Highness to the US during which the current ‘misunderstanding’ among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was at the top of his priorities.

“But the crisis among the sisterly countries has entered a phase which we least expected because the crisis have been transformed into a lackluster among the GCC citizens.

“In other words, the political differences have become a popular issue and this is a dangerous development that has been blown out of proportion by the instigating and unprofessional media.

“We had never used to hearing such language in the media among the GCC officials in full view of all Arab brothers and the world at large.

“The mediation by the State of Kuwait and its Amir is actually the most appropriate solution to deal with the crisis, particularly since we know that based on the political conventions and international relations, the dialogue and the negotiations represent the solution for dealing with the issues of differences irrespective of the level of the latter.

“Such being the case, we suggest our interest and future rests in resuming the normal relations among the GCC countries and eventually return to the said relations between Qatar and its sisterly countries to the level prior to the current crisis. We should keep in mind that prolonging the period of these differences does not bode well at the social level and even political.

“However, what drew the attention of our GCC crisis is to see that many writers, media men and politicians who don’t belong to our region, have exploited the situation to disseminate hatred and deepen the gap of differences among the relevant countries and the informational address is rife with the language tinted with poison.

“But the question is, what we can do as GCC citizens to get the Council stand as an organization of which all of us are proud because this organization throughout the past decades has proved to be steadfast and successful.

“Moreover, its accomplishments have been linked to its founding fathers in addition to generations of people who have hoisted high the banner of cooperation.”

“Nowadays, all Kuwaitis are naïve in their call for getting rid of expatriates,” Abdullatif Al-Duaij wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“At the same time, one group of Kuwaitis is exerting efforts to identify the dual citizenship holders while the other group is trying to deport those whose loyalty they suspect. However, everyone is trying to find ways to take Kuwait back to the time of the “people of the fence.”

“Even though these attitudes are unquestionably exaggerated and unrealistic, it would be a big mistake to ignore them especially with the spread of racism, sectarianism and backwardness through calls supported by many including the government, which is the first sponsor of terrorism and extremism. “In my previous article titled “Bedoun is the fabrication of the government,” I called upon those who are dreaming of the Kuwaiti citizenship being granted to the Bedoun, to forget about it. At present, both the people and the government are eager to find solutions for the dilemma related to decrease in incomes and rationalization of expenditures.

“They actually are doing so, as this can be expected from people who have become used to luxury and prosperity. For them, the solution is to reduce the population instead of increasing their productivity. Therefore, it is illogical to talk about any actions that can increase the burden on public expenditures especially in this period.

“If we were living in the times of old Kuwait when our ancestors had worked hard, the increase in population would have been welcomed, as increase in population means increase in production. Prior to the oil era, people of Kuwait used to pay the government but received humble services.

“Today, any increase in the population means increase in the burden on the public budget and reduction in the years of prosperity.

“Most Kuwaitis believe they have nothing to do with the Bedoun issue, as they were not the ones who created it. They believe Bedoun people are intruders who brought this problem on themselves. This might be correct, as “the Bedoun” are fabricated by the government unlike the expatriates, who are the fabrication of the laziness of citizens and the growth of the oil revenues along the years. About 25 years ago, I had written that, whenever a Kuwaiti citizen is born, he is in need of two kinds of expatriates — the first kind takes care of him while the second kind offers him services.

“Therefore, the main request should be limited in this period to remove the abuses shown towards the Bedoun people, which are represented in depriving them from receiving medical and educational services as well as the freedom to travel. Such issues are guaranteed by the international declarations and agreements to which Kuwait is committed to, as per its declaration.”

“The issue of “exceptional salaries” for lawmakers emerged out of the blue, and many people are surprised about it — given that the system isn’t new and has been implemented for almost a quarter century,” Ali Mahmoud Khajah wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“Over one hundred lawmakers have benefited from the policy so far during successive parliaments, so there is no need for any condemnation, astonishment or doubt. Many people may accept this explanation but I don’t accept the justification for any past or present lawmaker collecting the sum monthly just because it has become a parliamentary tradition and norm.

“Several other lawmakers collected money in the past, yet their action should not become a legal tender. Lack of public knowledge concerning the exceptional salaries may have made it look acceptable in the past parliaments. It should be noted that objecting to emoluments is not new, because MP Rakan Al-Nisf rejected it when he joined the Parliament. Meshari Al-Osaimi also rejected it as far back as 1992.”

“Time and again, we read and hear news about natural disasters and crises in one place or another. We get scared when we follow the occurrence of those disasters and crises. Sadly, we only plan to deal with those disasters when they happen suddenly when we are not prepared,” Dr Hind AlShoumar wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“Our unpreparedness is costing us a number of victims, as hospitals and health facilities cannot cope up with the need of the hour. What we see on TV channels reveals that we are still quite behind when it comes to disaster and crisis management.

“In order to prepare disaster and crisis management, we should not wait for a disaster to occur but we should train all the responsible individuals either through simulated activities or drills. Everybody must be in the knowing side.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb