‘HH late Amir Sheikh Sabah continued to play humanitarian, mediatory role’
Other Voices
“IN 1984, at the height of the Cold War between the Western and the Eastern camps, communist Bulgaria began a campaign of cultural ‘integration’ of the country’s minorities,” columnist Mohammad Salem Al-Mezel wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“The largest of those minorities were of Turkish origin. It is believed that Bulgarians of Turkish origin used to represent about 10 percent of the total population.
“The authorities forced them to change their surnames to Slavic names. Many refused and the official harassment of these massive numbers began, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee to the mother country, Turkey.
“During the period between 1984 and 1989, the number of displaced people reached more than 200,000, which sparked a diplomatic crisis between Bulgaria, a member of the Warsaw Pact at the time, and Turkey, a member of NATO.
“There were fears of a war between the two countries after Turkey mobilized forces on the borders, while the official media in Bulgaria began to hint that the Turkish minority might have been a ‘fifth column’ owing its loyalty to a member country of the hostile NATO.
“In the midst of that crisis, a name appeared in the news – Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of a small Arab country, Kuwait.
“The late Amir, may God rest his soul in peace, embarked on shuttle diplomacy – which he was known for regionally and perhaps internationally since assuming the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1963 – between the two countries, which resulted in several meetings of the Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria and Turkey in Kuwait to solve the crisis.
“These meetings were a reason for de-escalation and media campaigns, until the crisis subsided after the fall of the Communist camp less than a year later.
“That crisis was only one of many crises and conflicts that the late Amir played a historical role in resolving, or at least in alleviating their severity, because he, may God have mercy on him, enjoyed a unique ability to negotiate and mediate with his usual skill in turning corners and thinking outside the box, in the diplomatic sense, a skill few policymakers and diplomacy professionals have.
“Likewise, these opportunities would not have been available to a minister in a small Arab country like Kuwait had it not been for the ‘positive neutrality’ approach that he, may God have mercy on him, adopted as a working guide for Kuwaiti foreign policy since Kuwait joined as an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
“The special relationship that binds Kuwait, especially the late Amirs Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem and Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, with Egypt during the reign of the late Egyptian president Jamal Abdul Al-Nasser, one of the founders of the NAM along with India, Yugoslavia and Indonesia in 1961, had a role in considering Kuwait, and its young foreign minister at the time, as a mediator.
“Honest and reliable in the crises of the region and sometimes outside it, such as the crisis of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, or the crisis that followed the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1974, where the efforts of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad resulted in historic meetings in Kuwait between the two countries that had a direct impact in ending the crisis and establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“Historical documents mention that Kuwait was subjected to Western and regional pressures during the 1970s and 1980s to sever ties with the Soviet Union, but Sheikh Sabah resisted these pressures, preferring to remain committed to the NAM policy. He strove hard, and despite the pressure, succeeded in maintaining a balanced foreign policy, even in the matter of diversifying arms sources during that period.
“It is known that Kuwait was the only Gulf country that established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union since the early 1960s, and this continued until the mideighties, when some Gulf states established official relations with Moscow.
“As a matter of fact, our region, has witnessed the eruption of many consecutive crises during which Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, played the role of a unique fighter, be it during the so-called ‘Black September’, (between the Palestinian commandos and the Jordanian Army in 1970), the Lebanese-Lebanese conflict (in 1975) , and the Yemeni war (that erupted prior to the unity between North and South Yemen) in addition to many other crises in which the late Amir felt the need to intervene in a mediator capacity and enjoyed the respect of all parties, driven by his Arab nationalism, whose glow did not disappoint even at the height of the abandonment of many in the Arab world after Camp David Accord (between Egypt and Israel).
“He continued in that role until his last day of work a few months ago, preoccupied with the Gulf crisis, using all his experience and wisdom to solve it, despite his advanced age.
“That role made Kuwait a more powerful country than its geographic size and population. With his departure, may God have mercy on him, the Arabs and the world lost a unique diplomat that brought calm, and gave hope and solutions at the height of the region’s successive storms and their lashing the region one after the other.”
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“There is no doubt that we are facing a new phase, with a new era and a new maturity, with the assumption of His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as the new Amir of Kuwait, in light of great challenges and enormous complications at the local, regional and international levels, and the exceptional circumstances imposed by the Corona pandemic on the whole world,” columnist and former director of Culture Department at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters Waleed Al-Rujaib wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Perhaps one of the most important challenges and among its priorities is the crises that Kuwait is going through that, over time, led to major corrosion in the bodies of institutions and society, in the form of corruption, theft and sabotage that the country faced, and the absence of the prestige of the central state, and the emergence of entities and sub-identities of sectarian, tribal, family and factional divisions that sought to fragment society into non-national affiliations and loyalties, and its impact on all the joints of the state, its institutions, and its infrastructure.
“Among the things affected by sabotage, neglect and marginalization, is the comprehensive culture and all its components, and not only its manifestations of arts and literature, but including values, morals and civilized behavior, which are essential elements of the comprehensive culture, and the men of culture and thought have been marginalized, and they have been replaced by those who do not have anything to do with culture and the independence of cultural institutions by attaching them to bodies and officials who have no relationship with culture, until the culture became a mere formal decoration.
“Perhaps one of the most important things that besieged the creativity represented by the arts and the letters, were represented by the restrictions that shackled the culture and represented by some kinds of laws instituted by those who contravened the text and the spirit of the constitution including the freedom of opinion, expression and reading, as such we found how the cultural scene received a setback, and the civilized culture which distinguishing the State of Kuwait in its capacity as the minaret of the Arab culture, evaporated.
“It is known that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad pays every possible attention to culture and its creativities, and he knows its value and role in reflecting the image of the State of Kuwait before the Arab and the international worlds, as such all educated people, scholars and thinkers hope that the culture with its comprehensive concept will be at the top of sustainable development, because this shall help achieve the objective that shall conduce to a new Kuwait as well as top a modern civil state that shall reoccupy its place at the cultural and civilizational renaissance its rehabilitation.
“However, I think this is high time to establish a Ministry of Culture, just like in developed countries, and the time has come for political, economic, social and cultural reform, in a way that restores the confidence of the Kuwaiti people, among them intellectuals, writers and thinkers, in their civil state, including the state of just law and institutions.
“We pray to Almighty God to bestow His mercy and His forgiveness upon our late Amir. In the meantime, we pray to the Almighty to grant our current Amir prosperity and surround him with wise men for guidance that might be required for executing the Modern Civil State Project in a way that shall guarantee the march of the State of Kuwait towards development, progress and prosperity.”
“We need qualitative thought and a change of perception towards the aspects of our life, thinking in another way. What I mean in my article is this – the environmental situation deserves a lot of articles, research and studies. This simply means the life around us – the air we breathe, the life components we are dealing with and the repercussions of global climate change affecting us,” columnist Ahmad Abdulgadi Al-Sadhan wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“The climate finally benefited from the positive consequences of the corona epidemic, which contributed to the reduction of global industrialization that had an enormous negative impact on the climate in the past due to the huge quantity of fumes and toxic gases emitted. As I mentioned earlier, we must look at the environment again, but with green lenses! This means we have to work hard, God willing – whether individuals, activists, governments or international organizations – to improve the environmental conditions. Any engineering project, factory or building must be compatible with the environment.
“Many engineering specializations and scientific ideas contribute to this vital field. The website of the United Nations Environment Program contains many useful researches such as those related to the buildings and construction sector and the need to reduce energy consumption. This is in addition to several recommendations regarding the ‘green economy’ concept, reducing chemical pollution, and proper handling of waste and ways to benefit from it.”
“When the general national reconciliation issue was raised from time to time, some were quick to totally and aggressively reject it, others thought it was possible and there were those who were satisfied while others called for it as they thought it was the only way for Kuwait to overcome the crisis,” columnist Iqbal Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“I am one of those who rejected the idea of general national reconciliation, because of my vision of what happened inside the homeland in terms of violations, incursions and collisions in a way we neither wanted nor expected ... We witnessed the most terrifying and strangest scenes during the storming of the National Assembly building on Black Wednesday.
“Because of stifling crisis that Kuwait is going through this period, I think the country needs all of its people to rescue it by presenting rational, wise and correct solutions.
“Today, I look at the general national reconciliation issue from another perspective – different from my previous perspective … I have moved from absolute and convulsive rejection to considering it a subject of discussion for the sake of the homeland and interest of the people.”