‘Moral values face setback’
Back to prehistoric era?
“IN A historic step, the United States has withdrawn from the Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system, responsible for the promotion, boosting and protection of all human rights throughout the world, addressing cases of violations against human rights in the world and making recommendations thereon,” columnist and former director of Culture Department at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) Waleed Al-Rujaib wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“America has withdrawn from the council because of what it called chronic prejudice against Israel and the absence of reform. The council has been described as hypocritical and selfish, while the United States is fiercely criticized for holding children separated from their immigrant relatives at the US-Mexican border.
“The European Union considers that the US decision undermines the role of the United States as a defender of democracy in the world. The Council of Europe also stressed that this American withdrawal means that Donald Trump ‘is no longer the moral leader of the free world’.
“According to some observers, the American decision gives the excuse for dictatorships in the world to accuse the United Nations of interfering in its internal affairs with respect to human rights violations and considering its decisions as non-binding.
“The Palestinian side believes that Washington, by its bias towards Israel, cannot be a neutral mediator in the Middle East peace process.
“The withdrawal of the United States from joint international activities, which deal with the destiny of humanity, such as the Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Convention and the agreement with major powers on Iran’s nuclear program, has become something known in the world.
“Likewise, the US president, making trade decisions with Europe, Canada and China, could lead to a global trade war that could shake the world’s economy and stability amid the structural capitalist crisis that has been going on since 2008.
“This blatant bias towards the Israeli entity, which practices State terrorism and racist liquidation against the Palestinian people, is accompanied by destructive actions against the Arab countries by provoking and adopting sectarian and tribal conflicts, which threatens civil wars and total destruction, as it happened in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen.
“But what draws the attention of the citizens of the Gulf is that they are beginning to see some aspects of the American conspiracy through some of the racial and sectarian trends between us, to achieve the so-called new Middle East project.
“The United States and its agent in the Middle East, Israel, are the worst in human history, because they are destroying all human accomplishments and universal consensus, leading humanity back to prehistoric period.”
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“America’s current policy of exploiting conflicts is a proof of America’s inability to implement its strategic plan to dominate the Middle East by building military bases in every part of the world,” columnist Mustafa Al-Sarraf wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“Therefore, before its withdrawal from the region, Britain had withdrawn its policy only for America to adopt this method because the military presence with a few hundred soldiers with their equipment will achieve a military hegemony over a country unless the political system in which they exist is pro-American and economically linked.
“But in case if the interests of any regime that America is at odds with are at stake, these rules will become a burden on America, which will be more hostile to its policies by these regimes and their peoples.
“Therefore, America is working today to provoke conflicts and is involved in crisis management in the region as a tactical act through which America will make gains by sending weapons to the concerned parties to curb development of the peoples of the region.
“In this context, we see how America had transformed the Islamic State or the so-called DAESH as a vehicle to devastate the infrastructure of Iraq and Syria, and it is America that is currently obstructing any peace initiative, whether in Syria or Yemen or Libya or in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
“In other words, when the fire of crises reached the dead end, it is America which rekindles the flames and place obstacles for the sake of averting any prospective reconciliation between the relevant parties and this was evident through its negative intervention in the meetings of the Syrian opposition parties in Geneva.
“Not just that, it is America, which has made its stepdaughter Israel the source of these problems, and its repeated attacks on Syria, in coordination with America, are only a picture of these dirty acts, as in the case of its attacks against the Palestinians in the occupied territories with the blessing of America.”
“A writer of the American newspaper “Atlantic” described the American President Donald Trump’s policy against illegal immigrants and their separation from their families and children as Frankenstein-like, referring to Frankenstein’s barbaric and terrorizing nature,” Hassan Al-Essa wrote for Aljarida daily.
“The scene of separating family members at the American borders is not at all accepted in consideration of the principles of human rights. The scene evoked the anger of the American press.
“Wife of former president George W. Bush as well as the wife of President Trump attacked such actions. However, President Trump’s wife continued to hold the stick in the middle, placing the responsibility on both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party because they did not succeed in agreeing on the situation of illegal residents.
“Enforcement of the deportation processes (which, according to them but definitely not according to us, are barbaric) is part of the “zero tolerance” policy when applying the laws in America. This policy dismisses any humane or social considerations when enforcing the laws.
“Despite the powerful media campaign and the wide opposition by human rights organizations, the deportations cannot be suspended or stopped without intervention of the judiciary authority, which could bring things back to their normal path. However, this will take long time to be achieved.
“In the USA, the judiciary authority is 100-percent independent in accordance with the Constitution. It does not submit to supervision of any other authorities such as the executive authority. It is not controlled by directives issued by the President as is the case in most Arab countries.
“When will the zero-tolerance policy against illegal immigrants come to end? Nobody knows exactly. The question is - why isn’t Trump inspired by the Arab solutions in terms of disposing illegal residents and even the undesired citizens?
“In our countries, a citizen is classified as patriot as long as he is loyal to the ruling regime and not necessarily to the nation. We do not have a clear-cut measure for distinguishing a nation from a regime such as democratic institutions, laws, and civil society organizations.
“We still remember the decisions of Saddam Hussain to dispose off the Kurds and the Shiites. Even though Kuwait is considered more advanced in the field of human rights compared to other Arab countries, there are some processes such as revoking citizenships and arresting some intellectuals that need to be reviewed.
“Trump should have borrowed the experience of the Central System for Remedying Status of Illegal Residents. He can grant colorful ID cards to illegal Latino immigrants which will identify their status, deprive them from receiving basic rights including the right to education, and turn their lives into a living hell.
“Zero tolerance is a common factor between us and the strategy of President Trump. The difference is that he enforced it only on the illegal immigrants but we consider it as a lifestyle. We use it against anyone who does not resemble us in terms of any of the factors such as sect, religion, nation and politics. Bravo Zero Tolerance.”
“Generosity is a common characteristic of Gulf nature and tradition. They are hospitable and familiar with giving a hand to the needy,” Dr Nayef Al-Adwani wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“This is the true application of the Islamic rules and the attitude of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He had said, “I have been sent to present the best of morals. They include supporting those who suffer from troubles.” This is what the Gulf countries have done; one example of which is the generous initiative of Saudi Arabian ruler King Salman bin Abdulaziz to provide economic support to Jordan which recently has been suffering from a lot of economic problems due to different reasons including political reasons such as its stance on the Palestinian issue, and economic reasons such as the difficult conditions set by the World Bank and Paris Club. These conditions include the enforcing tax, minimizing subsidies and fighting corruption before obtaining loans. All these will cause the situation to fall on a dangerous track, such as public demonstrations on the streets of Jordan by a number of unions and blocs. When the issue had reached the climax, the solution came from the Gulf side in offering economic aid such as loans without interest, increased investments with the cooperation of the private sector, and enhanced commercial exchange between Jordan and the GCC countries.
“Gulf support came on time to rescue the government and people of Jordan from falling into a bottomless hole. When offering the aid, Gulf countries did not consider the previous stances of Jordan such as supporting Sadaam Hussein.
“In such hard times, there is no place for recalling previous disputes. Hard times require proceeding to help the injured and doing everything to save them. This, in brief, is the stance of Gulf countries towards Jordan.”
“If I were not a Kuwaiti, I would have wanted to be a Kuwaiti. Kuwait is a small State with a large geographical area, leaders and men. It has proven through events, circumstances and hard times that it is the size of the Arab and Islamic nation with fixed Arab and Islamic positions,” columnist Dr Mohammad Al-Duwaihis wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“From Kuwait, the Palestinian Fatah Organization was established in 1695. Kuwait provided financial and in kind assistance, as well as political support for the Palestinian cause in international forums and organizations.
“Brave Kuwaiti soldiers were among the fallen martyrs in the Oct 6 War in defense of the land of Arabism and Islam.
“Kuwait is an Arab country, more than those who claim Arabism. It is an Islamic country that defends Islam and Muslims throughout the world.
“Kuwait is a State of humanity that provides assistance to all the needy around the world regardless of their religion, color, sect, race or gender.”
“We are in Kuwait. If we do not find a crisis or problem, we contribute to the creation of a crisis and problem for ourselves, and then we take time to search for a solution or we exchange accusations. The most prominent artificial crisis is the ‘electronic passport’,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“In fact, we do not know why the Ministry of Interior is in a hurry to stop usage of the old passport and adopt the new electronic one for traveling although a large number of citizens have yet to replace their old passports not because they delayed applying for the new passport but due to the ministry’s decision to replace such a huge number of passports.
“All institutions that decided to replace their documents or papers gave enough time for the replacement. We have the best example in the Central Bank of Kuwait when it decided to replace the currency notes as it carried out a comprehensive public awareness campaign and allotted enough time for the replacement of old currency notes. Therefore, the entire process was smooth and achieved great success.
“The issue is not a miracle in itself, but the problem is how to do it and arrange it. If the ministry, which is responsible for issuing passports and travel documents, had only prepared well for this, we would not have witnessed confusion in the delivery of electronic passports.”
“Whenever an Arab team plays in a World Cup match, we all support that team from our hearts. We favor it and we all pray for its victory. Despite the results, even if it is a defeat or if the team was very harsh, it does not matter to us as we all wish for Arab teams to reach the finals,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“Getting to the World Cup itself is an honor for each and every team that gets there, even if they do not qualify. This also applies to the World Cup matches. There are players who attract attention and become international stars that are bought by huge international clubs. This is a gain for the club, for the player and for his country.
“Therefore, we are not in support of harsh criticism that frustrates and degrades the morale of players, despite the dispute between us. Those who reach the level of World Cup represent all of us. It is our duty to stand with them irrespective of whether they win or lose. There are many big teams that were favorites for winning the World Cup but were knocked out early.
“The criticism directed at Arab teams especially Saudi Arabia is beyond reasonable limits. Did all who are criticizing Saudi Arabia expect Saudi Arabia to bring the World Cup?”
— Compiled by Zaki Taleb