WE cannot find stateless persons (Bedouns) in other parts of the world, but only in Kuwait. The state took clever steps to hamper the performance of the National Assembly when this group demanded their right to citizenship; hence, the creation of a segment called ‘Bedouns’.
During the tenure of the former interior minister in 1986, there was a minimal number of Bedouns in the country - about one third of the Kuwaiti population - then they suddenly increased to 200,000. Our wise government has included them in the official Census of the state. However after the dissolution of the National Assembly in 1986, a total of 200,000 names were deleted from the Census. Is there any other group of people considered extinct in the entire world? Who has been manipulating the population structure and the official data? The most serious aspect of the issue is the response of ministers to the queries of their legislative counterparts in this regard.

When the alleged Bedouns suddenly found their homes and escaped from Kuwait during the invasion in 1990, the figure dropped to 120,000! We are currently grappling with a humanitarian problem, which requires lasting solutions but not at the expense of Kuwait. These solutions should not also lead to a lopsided population structure in the country. We are referring to those who have been in Kuwait since the liberation until now. After about 20 years, some of them have Kuwaiti brothers and relatives.

Solutions
In a session held recently without the government, the Parliament proved its commitment to come up with real solutions to the problem. Some stressed the need to grant nationality to all Bedouns, but others outrightly rejected this suggestion. The concerned committee has been instructed to finalize its report on the issue. Committees are considered the parliamentary ‘kitchen’ where laws are being prepared and cooked. This is what the government has been clamoring for since the start of democracy - to waste the time of its legislative counterpart in dealing with issues which should be referred to the concerned departments and consultants to provide solutions in the interest of Kuwait. In case any of the MPs deviates from the right path, his fate will be determined during elections. As for the government, it has not done anything since the proposal was presented to the National Assembly on July 1, 1986 until now - a total of 24 years!

Professional
Former interior minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled has dealt with the issue in a professional manner. Discussions over the issue have been suspended since he left the ministry, but the government has succeeded in determining the origins of some Bedouns. Out of 12,095 stateless persons, the government identified the real nationalities of 3,018. Those who are not entitled to citizenship should be given two options - leave or reveal his real nationality and stay in the country as an expatriate with a valid residence permit and enjoy civil and human rights, instead of the proposal presented by the Parliament to consider Bedouns equal to natural-born Kuwaitis, except the right to own a house and run in legislative elections.

We should stop claiming that we have signed international agreements which might affect the reputation of Kuwait and its humanitarian record. For this I can cite as a case in point Mohammad Al-Fayed, an Egyptian businessman currently residing in Britain. Even if he owns Harrods - one of the world’s most famous luxury department store based in Britain, he has not been granted the British citizenship. Great Britain has refused to grant him nationality without worrying about the human rights and international agreements even if the main office of Amnesty International is located in London due to security and internal considerations.

We call on the authorities to sort the cases well, instead of generalizing issues, particularly those related to security. Is the government keen on serving the interest of Kuwait? Or it wants the issue to be the subject of endless disputes and waste the time of the National Assembly at the expense of development concerns? The government has been accusing the Parliament of obstructing the development process. We may thank our wise government as it has planted time bombs called ‘Bedouns’!
I implore the government to work in the interest of Kuwait. On Aug 2, 1990, 80,000 escaped from Kuwait. The former interior minister said these Bedouns demanded for their right to citizenship from 1986-1990. Who has been manipulating the population structure? Is it the state and its plans which are just reactions to any problem?

Note 1: YouTube has shown a video of a group of Bedouns celebrating and performing Housa - an Iraqi folk dance, while cursing a religious personality. Do these Bedouns deserve the Kuwaiti citizenship? We urge the Ministry of Interior to conduct investigations in this regard to maintain national security and punish the guilty, who should be deported from Kuwait.
Note 2: Our associate Faisal Al-Masoud Al-Fheid passed away several days ago. We pray to God Almighty to have mercy on him and we extend our deepest condolences to his family.

Email: Youssef@yalmubaraki.com