“EVER since the so-called ‘Al-Sayed Al-Fali crisis’ broke out in the country, we have been trying to provoke one another by inviting controversial people to our country. These invitations have also been damaging Kuwait’s relations with some other countries, besides its reputation,” columnist and former MP Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily Saturday.

“I don’t know what is the justification behind inviting these controversial figures to Kuwait. It seems those who invite these figures feel the situation in the country will not be corrected unless these people visit Kuwait. “The Saudi cleric Sheikh Al-Oraifi, for instance, created a crisis between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Immediately after the crisis, some of us invited him to visit our country, as if we want to shift the crisis in question to Kuwait.

“Recently, we heard that some of us invited one of the key Saudi opposition figures, who is currently residing in London, to visit Kuwait, ignoring the fact that such an invitation is a gross challenge to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, let alone that it will undermine the distinguished relations between Kuwait and the Kingdom. “Such being the case, one wonders what will our country benefit by inviting a Saudi opposition figure who is currently living in the British capital.

“Apart from the above, some of us earlier invited one Egyptian citizen called Nasr Abu Zaid, as if there are no intellectuals in Egypt except this guy. Those who invited him ignored the fact that his presence, per se, will cause a crisis in the country. “Furthermore, we recently heard that some of us invited controversial Iraqi MP Baha’a Al-Aaraji to visit Kuwait, ignoring the fact that this man had earlier caused a crisis in his home country. It seems those who invited him were trying to import to Kuwait the kind of sectarian crises Al-Aaraji creates in Iraq.

“In this context, one may recall that the Iraqi parliament itself had issued a statement in which it denounced the sectarian behavior of Al-Aaraji and this means we almost got involved in importing sectarian tensions into the country. “All this is happening at a time when we are fed up of these kinds of crises and as such are not in need of importing more, particularly since we know that the said invitees will do nothing good to Kuwait and its people and we also know that the countries of these invitees failed to contain them. “In spite of the above, we find that some of us, in a bid to provoke some of our compatriots, invite undesirable figures to visit Kuwait at the expense of our relationship with others as well as at the expense of the reputation of our homeland.”

Also:
“Two strange incidents occurred recently in both the United States of America and Kuwait,” prominent Kuwaiti columnist and attorney Mohammad Musaed Al-Saleh wrote for Al-Qabas daily Saturday.
“Let us first talk about the strange incident which occurred in the United States of America, which can currently be called ‘the mother of the world,’ in terms of strange incidents taking place there. The latest such incident took place when an American citizen flew his small plane into a huge  building that housed offices related to the US Tax Agency in Austin City, the capital of Texas state.
“The American newspapers reported that the pilot stole the plane and intentionally set fire to his own house before flying into the huge building to protest against the American Tax Law.
“The United States of America and Kuwait are very similar as both are democracies and States of institutions. Such being the case, the American pilot in question, should have resorted to his MP in the House of Representatives and complained to him about the tax law instead of burning his own house and crashing his plane into the tax office.
“Not just that, the pilot should have appealed to the American impartial and just judiciary regarding the law. Anyway, we are not here to intervene in the internal affairs of the United States of America (the mother of the world).
“Returning to our country Kuwait, one may cite the attack carried out by three Kuwaiti citizens against the Head of Cardiology Department at Chest Diseases Hospital Dr Ali Al-Sayegh, simply because he, in deference to law and health regulations, did not allow them to visit one of the hospital’s wards.
“These three men, in their capacity as citizens of a State of institutions and law, attacked Dr Al-Sayegh, hit him and tore his clothes. Is this how a situation is handled in a State of institutions and law? Anyway, the Ministry of Health should take the necessary steps to deal with the case and should even resort to the judiciary.”

“The headline on the front page of Al-Rai daily yesterday about the attack on Head of Cardiology Department at the Chest Diseases Hospital drew my attention,” columnist Dr Hasan Abbas wrote for Al-Rai daily Saturday.
“The story said the Head of Cardiology Department at the Chest Diseases Hospital Dr Ali Al-Sayegh filed a case against the sons of one female patient after they assaulted him. Dr Al-Sayegh was hit just because he requested the attackers to leave the ward as their mother underwent a catheter operation.
“The doctor was hit in his face as well as other parts of his body, but the most alarming part is the rise in such attacks on physicians by Kuwaiti citizens. In fact, it has become a phenomenon in government hospitals and sanitariums across the country.
“Apart from the above, one is surprised that the physician was attacked for taking action in interest of the patient. Such being the case, the attack was definitely unjustifiable, let alone that attacks on physicians in general is an unacceptable phenomenon.
“I feel this phenomenon can be attributed to the impolite culture prevailing among youths who spend most of their time loitering in commercial complexes and also to the leniency shown by authorities in dealing with such violators.”

“The current escalation in the region looks like a dialogue among deaf and mute people,” columnist Abdullah Al-Fowaidhel wrote for Al-Watan Arabic daily Saturday.
“In other words, there is nothing common between Iran  and the United States of America-led 1+6 Group and this means both parties are speaking in two different political languages. For its part, the Western coalition is striving to impose sanctions on Iran to prevent it from going ahead with its nuclear program and uranium enrichment project.
“On the other hand, Iran has resorted to the language of military escalation and has provoked all parties concerned, particularly by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, given the fact that the latter can be deemed the lifeline of all Arabian Gulf countries.
“Apart from the above, Iran developed its own missiles, which it claims can counter US-made Patriot missiles. All those observing Iranian behavior will inevitably notice that Iran is trying to provoke America into launching a military attack on it.
“Strangely, the Iranian regime is currently talking about a military attack which it claims will be launched by Israel next spring. All this, however, reflects the volume of Tehran’s internal problems. The Iranian regime is trying to expose its country to a foreign military attack to divert attention from internal problems, particularly since we know that the regime failed to terrify Iranian opposition parties through its oppressive, high-handed behavior and assassination campaigns.”

“Nationalism is interaction, cohesion and consolidation of the individual, the society and the country. It is also love and attachment to the place people live in, as well as towards the cultures and traditions of all those living in it despite some slight differences,” columnist Dr Abdulhameed Al-Sarraf wrote for Awan daily.
“Nationalism is also in granting equal rights and duties to everyone, without any selfishness or benefits for minorities over the majority. It is also showing respect to the laws of the country, in addition to its Constitution.
“Therefore, the good citizen is one who accepts good nationalism, which is based on a comprehensive vision, which includes him as well as all other citizens. It also avoids all types of discrimination on sectarian, tribal and similar other grounds.” 

“They wear stern and gloomy look and start seeking Allah’s refuge from devil whenever the topic of love is mentioned, as if this is not a natural passion that God Almighty planted in our minds and pronounced verbally,” columnist Salah Al-Hashim wrote for Al-Shaab weekly.
“I wonder why these people link love to disintegration. The love for oneself, country, parents and children is different from the love of money, position and power, which are more important to these people and unfortunately they get it too. The Valentine’s Day, which was celebrated last Sunday, is a very significant event, because people fall in many kinds of love.
“An example of what we just said is the request of MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaie and Mohammed Hayef that there should be regulations guiding activities of musicians during Hala February festivities. In respect to their request, we suggest that they propose a bill stating strict regulations to the Information Minister and hand it to artists upon arrival at the airport. It seems we are contending with a group, whose major desire is to deny us the right to smile, be happy and love. The ruling family and other influential leaders should stand against religious extremism.”

“Dubai was able to overcome the first part of the financial crisis by paying $4.1 billion, which was due on Dec 14, 2009,” columnist Faisal Abdul-Aziz Al-Zamel wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“Its government, supported by Abu Dhabi government, constantly reviews payment schedules with creditors. If we reflect on the situation in Greece, we will find that the entire European Union is working hard to rescue it from imminent bankruptcy. The incident has been taking its toll on the market value of Euro. UAE, on the other hand, single-handedly bears the crisis that was not due to imbalance of trade (imports overweighing exports) as in Greece, but due to the global recession. If we compare the manner in which Kuwait and the UAE handled the effects of global recession on local companies, we will discover that our country left the sector to face the brunt squarely.
“This subject is about sale of Zain Africa to Bharati India, whose profit was about $1 billion. The foreign investor has assigned another foreign company and Global of Kuwait to study and manage it, which shows the rate of confidence it reposes in the Kuwaiti company. None of Kuwaiti agencies exhibited that level of cooperation with the sector. They also failed to clarify to Kuwaiti economic society the need to differentiate between effects of the global recession and performance of the sector.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb