Former Parliament Speaker stresses importance of solving Bedoun issue

‘Solution lies in solid legislation, not parliamentary recommendations’

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 13: The government has not been honest in its efforts to solve the Bedoun issue as the concerned officials repeatedly made promises through the media to address the issue within a certain period, but nothing has been done till now, says former Parliament Speaker Ahmed Al-Sadoun.

The former Speaker made the statement in a seminar titled, “The Bedoun Impasse,” organized by Kuwait University faculty members recently.

He stressed the importance of solving this issue for the good of the country, considering its security and human rights ramifications. He pointed out the solution lies in solid legislation, not parliamentary recommendations; adding that “even the term ‘illegal residents’ used by the government to refer to Bedouns in official documents has no legal basis.”

He cited events from 1965 to 1985 when the government registered Bedouns as Kuwaiti citizens in official surveys and through parliamentary channels. The minister of planning at the time disclosed this step was taken to increase the number of Kuwaitis in a bid to thwart greedy intentions of some parties in neighboring countries, he added.

On the other hand, Head of Political Science Department and former MP Dr Hassan Jouhar said this issue has been left pending for decades; indicating he was the chairman of the Bedoun Resolution Committee in 2011 when Director of the Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) Saleh Al-Fadala promised to solve the issue within four years, and that he would resign after this period.

“Around eight years have passed since then, yet no solid solution has been implemented,” asserted Jouhar. On the contrary, the problem has worsened despite the existence of CSRSIR; hence, the need for legislation which will solve the issue once and for all.