‘Gatherings can kill ME societies’

‘Virus may last from months to year’

“WHILE China announced during the past few days not to record any new infections with the emerging corona virus, this virus spreads like wildfire in other societies, especially in Europe and the United States of America, as well as countries in the Middle East that have started to record new infections, which confirm that the virus will be at its peak in this region during this stage,” columnist and professor at Kuwait University’s Political Science Department Dr wrote for

“However, many people believe that the transmission period of the novel coronavirus will last between some months to one year, particularly since we know this virus is different from one country to another in terms of its spread and reaching its peak, but in case this virus reaches its peak, it will start its decline again.

“In all cases the most important ways to combat this virus remain in the policy of domestic quarantine and social spacing. In this context, many states have imposed curfews especially in Jordan, Morocco and now in Kuwait, an important policy that must be followed in light of the refusal of many to obey the precautionary measures that prompted the World Health Organization to warn that Iran and the countries of the Middle East will exacerbate their crisis with coronavirus due to the mass gatherings.

“Not just that, the insipidity has reached its peak recently and this was evident by the publication of a video clip showing a wedding party and invitees including a group of youth who sarcastically put face mask in an apparent reference indicating that they are dealing recklessly with the preventive measures.

“This happened, although the entire movement in the world has been suspended including transportation and telecommunication until the current phase of this fatal deadly virus passes.

“Meanwhile, some international experts say mass gatherings shall kill the Middle East communities and this means ignorance, the culture and the daily behavior of the peoples, will define its fate, given the fact that the inappropriate behaviors are against religious and Islamic teachings.

“In this context, we would like to point out that Islamic teachings urges Muslims to abide by all the manners that might be requested to protect themselves and their lives, because the life of a human is something created by Almighty God and as such this must be protected and maintained, but the regard to the fate of the human being, this actually is something shall remain in the hands of the Almighty Allah.

“As a matter of fact, the Middle Eastern and the Arab communities are currently facing a real challenge and this means these communities, should deal with such a challenge through a spirit of solidarity and cooperation.

“However, the novel coronavirus crisis, has actually revealed the merits and the behaviors of many people throughout the world particularly in terms of the manner followed by them to manage the crisis and the extent of the community commitment to solidarity as well as their commitment to the patience and their attempts to benefit from the crisis by correcting themselves and their mistakes in utmost to benefit from the technology.

“In conclusion, we hope the peoples of the region will have their shares in terms of creating the required changes.

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Dr Al-Mekaimi

“Among the dangers of the outbreak of the corona epidemic in Kuwait and all countries that adopt the sponsorship system are the bulk workers that work for them on a daily basis, how do these people live and where does their livelihood come from? Here we pay the price of visa traders,” columnist wrote for daily.

“There is no accurate figure for the deaths as a result of the three Gulf wars since after the Khomeini revolution in 1979, but statistics put it at about one and a half million people in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and other nationalities from countries that have participated in wars.

“There are two imminent dangers in the region, the mind alone will confront them: the first in the emission of nuclear radiation in the air and Gulf waters because of Iran’s nuclear program, and the second in the occurrence of new destructive earthquakes, especially in areas where Iran is building its nuclear reactors

“These two dangers, in addition to the wars to come - God forbid - must be a top priority for the region’s governments after the experiences of the “Three Wars” and “Corona epidemics”, and we should benefit from the incident of the Japanese Fukushima reactor whose radiation leaked from the earthquake (Bushehr station) close to Shuwaikh Port, which is on an earthquake line), the incident of the Russian “Chernobyl” reactor and a study of its devastating environmental consequences, and how the human tragedies resulting from them were addressed through building a system to face natural disasters at the national and Gulf levels.

“Polluting the Gulf waters with nuclear radiation requires five years of recovery, according to the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), and closing the Strait of Hormuz as a result of these disasters will threaten the world’s economy and the countries of the region as it is currently happening with the economic effects of corona, and the region’s indulgence in sectarian strife will be a repulsive social virus ready to be activated in the event of wars or a nuclear catastrophe, just as Corona casualties that turned into a sectarian and pathetic issue.

“The coronavirus should be a lesson for the countries of the region to work to protect their people from impending disasters, and I hope that fear or awareness is the motive for action to protect the people of the region.”

“THE Constitution of Kuwait is the document that protected the country from many crisis and historical diversions. This was evident from the fact that this constitution always represented the pivot of the country’s national unity and was the collector of the people of Kuwait”, columnist Dr wrote for

daily. “However, it is needless to say that no constitution shall remain above any amendment and evolution. All of the constitutions in the world had passed through some developments and have been upgraded through a series of amendments that commensurate with the historical developments of the relevant states.

“In this regard, one may refer that the experiments of many people have proven that any attempt exerted to insert any amendment into their constitution should be made cautiously and pursuant to some conditions that must absolutely be topped by popular and political public concord. The relevant proposed amendments should aim at developing the state constitution in a manner that shall achieve more freedoms and popular contribution.

“Consequently, one may observe how the states that had amended their constitutions without abiding by the aforementioned two conditions had discovered the amendments being transformed into speed breakers that impeded those countries’ progress and popular unity which the civilized states throughout the world are always striving to maintain.

“Based on these intuitions, we wonder about the formation of some committees for preparing certain constitutional and regulatory amendments in Kuwait under the current political and regional circumstances, as relevant news refer these amendments are aimed at serving the national interests?

“The idea of amending the Constitution should not be propounded as a reaction to some political crises symptoms; otherwise, such amendments will represent an action aimed at excluding some parties.

“In other words, the political crisis, irrespective of its volume in being big or small, can be settled through national reformative initiatives to be adopted by some symbols and political currents as well as by effective MPs who enjoy a presence in the political scene. This is what had happened and is still happening in the State of Kuwait.

“Given the above, we will be in need of joint dialogue and good initiatives as well as confirmation of the principle of separation among the powers (executive, legislative and judicial) and their constructive cooperation for the sake of upgrading the parliamentary action.

“Therefore, anyone who may think the amendment of some of the constitution articles and the National Assembly bylaw will be enough to nip any political crisis in the bud will be illusive indeed. Anyone who may think in such a manner will be like those who attempt to transform small problem into a huge snowball without knowing the destination of the snowball and what it will destroy in its way.

“In other words, solving the political crisis can be realized by nipping its grounds in the bud, topped by fighting corruption and the corrupt, surmounting the issue of “conflict of interests”, and providing the necessary fertile ground that might be required for boosting the governmental – parliamentary cooperation as well as expanding the popular participation. This entails the need for parliamentary and political consultations prior to the ministerial formation in a bid to reach a strong government that is immunized by a parliamentary majority.

“However, if the amendment of the Constitution was aimed at enhancing the principles of freedom and equality as per article 175 of the Constitution, then the concerned authorities should select the appropriate timing under which the spirit of national concord will be prevalent in a way that will open the door for a wide political and social participation.

“Such being the case and based on our conviction that the local and regional circumstances are not suitable for inserting any amendment into the country’s constitution, we hereby call for commitment to the Constitution and eventually solving all the problems by boosting the national unity and supporting the joint action among all of the country’s political and social powers.”

“Catalyst” – the 1962 Constitution of 1962 + the people = the security of the State of Kuwait.

“We recently learned about the formation of groups by the Amiri Diwan, according to what is being discussed in our diwaniyas or what we read in forums and social media, for the purpose of studying and reviewing some articles of the Constitution. Some names that sparked controversy between supporters and opponents have been highlighted. This is normal for some to gain acceptance”,

wrote for daily. “What is being discussed now concerning the Kuwaiti Constitution is not new. It was previously raised, as some people demanded amendments to the articles of the Constitution for various reasons. There had been actual efforts underway prior to the brutal invasion when the constitution was frozen. The National Assembly was then established, and the amendment to the Constitution was discussed during the Jeddah conference. In addition, a committee for reviewing the Constitution was formed some time before that, along with many other similar efforts.

“Here we have to remember that everything that Kuwait has been going through in the past ten years is observed on the political scene and political thought in a new perspective, which is that all practices go through constitutional and legal channels. There is no doubt that there are those who violated the Constitution like some of the MPs.

“However, if the new constitution revision committee comes out with several proposals, it must go through the official constitutional channels. What is required is serious discussion and deliberation, not only on what has been proposed, but rather how it is handled and approved or rejected.

“We people must be reassured by the presence of our generous leadership of Kuwait under His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who is keen to ensure these materials pass through constitutional channels and the law is applied, even if we do not like its results. However, this is the democracy that we have been brought up with. This is what happens with the opposition in the issue of storming of the National Assembly building. They came out with judicial rulings even if we did not agree with them.

“What is surprising is the silence of the MPs and their lack of initiation to pass any comment, even though they are in a legislative institution and this is the core of their duties. In fact, what happened indicates they are absent from the political and national scene. This is because some MPs resort to marginal issues that do not benefit the public good as if they are outside the squadron.

“In the end, we have to be optimistic and see what the future holds for us, despite my feeling that the vast majority opposes the revision of the Constitution out of fear of the unknown and lack of an appropriate atmosphere that draws confidence to revise the Constitution.

“Nonetheless, we must take into account the elimination of corruption and the presence of a clear government vision that strives for more freedoms as well as the existence of reforms that eliminate most of the issues and problems that MPs are still using to tickle the feelings of citizens, with the necessity to activate societal participation.”

“Since the beginning of the appearance of the signs of coronavirus epidemic, steps taken by the government to confront it were not as they should have been, especially since the Health minister responded to the irresponsible intervention of some MPs for electoral purposes far from the interests of the homeland and society, and allowed returnees from Iran to be quarantined in their houses”,

wrote for daily. “We denounced this because the matter is strongly considered as something that may cause the epidemic to spread horizontally among people, and kill its victims, especially since it is a new epidemic on the global health system, and therefore, facing it was almost impossible.

Despite the government’s lack of experience in such situations, we must record its speed in avoiding those sins committed by the Health minister at the beginning of the epidemic. We must note the speed of its ability to adapt to confront it, and receive the first shock with endless courage that resulted in fruitful results.

“With record speed, the government was able to neutralize the spread of coronavirus in a remarkable manner, winning the admiration of many both inside and outside Kuwait. It succeeded, with all the merit of top rank in the world, in besieging the epidemic and stopping its spread in the way it is spreading in the rest of the world. This is a source of pride for us as Kuwaitis.

“In order to complete the picture and for the successes continue, the measures must be tightened in terms of preventing gatherings that would help spread the virus. This requires specific measures in terms of firmness in dealing with every careless person trying to violate the decision of banning gatherings. As for citizens, immediate criminal punishment should be applied and for the expatriates, the procedure followed here is immediate deportation.

– Compiled by Zaki Taleb