“WHEN the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zeibari talks about the countries neighboring Iraq and their intervention in the Iraqi elections, he certainly talks of Iran, but frankly speaking he doesn’t dare to take the name of Iran and so he has to say neighboring countries are interfering in the Iraqi elections,” columnist and former MP Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily Sunday.
“The Iraqi officials don’t mention the name of Iran when they talk about Tehran’s intervention in their country’s affairs, because they know that Iran actually exists within Iraq. Not just that, they have realized that Iran enjoys a strong influence among some Iraqi political parties and as such they are concerned about the outcome of the Iraqi elections.

“Meanwhile, we believe Turkey also to some extent may have intervened in Iraq, particularly since we know Turkey doesn’t like to deal with the Kurdish parties by any means because the Kurds according to the Turks are terrorists. Such being the case, we found Turkey from time to time intervening militarily in Iraq in full view of the Iraqi government and the provincial government of Kurdistan.
“In this context, we elucidate that the Turkish military intervention in Iraq was actually aimed at pursuing the elements of the Turkish Kurdish Labor Party in North Iraq because this party is still in a state of war with the Turkish government since many years.
“With regard to Iran, we have observed that many Iraqi political parties can be classified as pro-Iran. Not just that, these parties were practicing their military and political activities in Iran prior to the downfall of the Iraqi despotic regime of Saddam Hussain to such an extent they are receiving direct orders from Iran.

“In spite of the above, we found the Iraqi foreign minister accusing the six countries neighboring Iraq of giving financial assistance to the Iraqi political parties or to some candidates.
“Here one may wonder why the Iraqi government has remained silent over the involvement of the Iraqi parties in receiving financial support from foreign countries. And why does the Iraqi government not expose these parties and reveal their illicit involvement before the Iraqi voters unless the money has changed hands with the voters to buy their silence.

“As a matter of fact, the problem of the Iraqi politicians rests in their strong fear of Iran and the problem of the Kurdish politicians rests in their fear of Turkey.
“Hence, we found both of them accusing countries neighboring Iraq of interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq. This happened although these politicians have realized that neither the Kuwaitis nor the Saudis interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq because the Iraqi parties mean nothing for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as both these countries are ready to deal with any regime that may rule Iraq. So, calm down Zeibari.”

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“The statements issued recently by the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zeibari accusing the countries neighboring Iraq including Kuwait of involvement in an endeavor to affect the outcome of the parliamentary elections in his country is unjustifiable and indeed disturbing,” columnist Badr Al-Rashidi wrote for Freedom Journal Sunday.
“Kuwaitis had never expected that the Iraqi officials will reward us in this manner for our support to the Iraqis and our contribution to the downfall of the worst regime in the world after that of Adolf Hitler by accusing us of interfering in the Iraqi internal affairs, particularly since we know the intervention in the other countries affairs is against Kuwaiti customs and traditions.
“As a matter of fact, we in Kuwait do our utmost to help others without waiting for any reward. This happened although we had realized in advance that some people will not acknowledge our assistance to them.
“We request Zeibari to reward us by keeping silent and stopping his accusations which he has leveled against us for the sake of election or political propaganda.
“However, we presume the statements issued by the foreign minister of any country except for Zeibari run contrary to the opinion of his government.”

“It is no secret that Iraq will see stability in the near future. Not just that, I will be pleased to see sectarian struggles and discords still continuing in that country to such an extent I hope the deteriorating situations which currently prevail in Iraq will aggravate,” columnist and former MP Mubarak Al-Sunaideh wrote for Al-Watan Arabic daily Sunday.
“Needless to say this feeling is dictated by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait whose obsessions and effects have blinded both the eyesight and vision. However, away from the nightmare of vengeance and resorting to the balance of faith and mind, I would like to point out that personally I would like to see the steel barrier which has been built between us and Iraqis remains stronger than the one built by Egypt for besieging Gaza Strip.
“Through my follow up of the Iraqi election campaigning, I have observed a fierce campaign that has been waged against the former Iraqi prime minister Dr Iyad Allawi by some Iraqi political parties in the wake of his trip to some Arab states including Egypt, Syria, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“The campaign against Allawi led by the incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and his party actually came following his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we all know Al-Maliki doesn’t conceal his grudge and enmity for the Kingdom.
“In this context, we say during the reign of the Al-Maliki government, the relationship between Iraq and both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Syria remained severed. He has also indirectly criticized Kuwait over the issue of the UN Chapter VII.”

“I feel there is no need for the National Assembly’s Negative Phenomena Committee, because this committee is currently trying to close the open Kuwaiti community, ignoring the fact that the parliamentary democracy in which we bask today can be attributed to our country’s openness, not because of a closed thought which some members this committee are currently trying to promote,” prominent Kuwaiti columnist and attorney Mohammad Musaed Al-Saleh wrote for Al-Qabas daily Sunday.
“Although this closed thought has nothing to do with the Kuwaiti community, unfortunately we found some members of the committee still adopt it. Not just that, they have threatened to grill the Minister of Interior if he allows a person like Hamed Abu Zaid to enter Kuwait to give a lecture and also threatened to grill the minister if he allows a Saudi intellectual to have access to Kuwait.
“Apart from the above, these MPs are also threatening to grill the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor if he doesn’t ban sportswomen from participating in international events because these people are blinded by gender segregation. In spite of the above, the backward thought of these people still calls for shunning sportswomen.
“As a matter of fact, Kuwait’s parliamentary life has been going well since the elections of the first Parliament in the country in 1963 and up to the election of 1981 Parliament which had members from many political Islamic parties and they began prohibiting everything.
“This happened because the government during that time was determined to change the structure of the National Assembly through the redistribution of the election constituencies and finally divided the country into 25 constituencies instead of 10 giving each constituency two MPs in the National Assembly.
“In conclusion, we suggest the National Assembly must hasten to dissolve the National Assembly’s Negative Phenomena Committee, because the existence of this committee cannot be justified any longer, particularly since we know the Kuwaitis are currently involved in following up the implementation of the new development plan.”

“The economists and people of the country heaved a sigh of relief when the National Assembly approved the development plan and seemed keen on cooperating with the government during its implementation. However, things seem to have returned to ‘normal’ with MPs initiating a grilling motion against Minister of Information and threatening to grill Minister of Social Affairs and Labor on the women’s sports issue. These will definitely lead to a tense relationship between the two authorities and once again it will negatively affect all fields,” columnist Jawad Ahmed Bu Khamseen wrote for Al-Nahar daily.
“In my previous article, I called on MPs to give the government enough time to carry out its commitment and move the development wheel of the state.
“Our happiness on seeing MPs supporting the development plan was short-lived as we see all bids and tenders related to development projects coming back to the political arena.
“Once the wheel of development moves, it will boost the local economy, promote local market and provide employment opportunities to Kuwaiti youths.”

“Who can say ‘Yes Sir’ in Nepali dialect?  Well, members of the Amiri Guard may say soon as reportedly 200 soldiers from the Gurkha regiment of Nepal will be appointed by the Kuwait government, as per reports published in Nepali newspapers and agencies,” columnist Saoud Abdullaziz Al-Asfour wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Gurkha soldiers have a long experience in working with Western armies since the Nepal-British war in 1814. The British East India Company and the British colonists had exploited them to crush the resistance movements in India, in addition to occupying many states and oppressing its people. Even today, one of the most important regiment in British Army is Gurkha regiment. The members of this regiment are known for their discipline and fierce loyalty to their leadership. The Gurkhas work on contracts and offer their unflinching support to whoever they serve.
“Armies of most countries and security companies use Gurkhas in dangerous areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Navy is using them at its base in Bahrain and Gurkhas are also serving the Sultan of Brunei.”

“The defenders of personal freedom have raised their voices saying women have the right to wear whatever they like,” columnist Mohammad Al-Mullah wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“I pointed out that when masonry invaded Kuwait under the names of civilization and religious and mental progress, it spread Western customs and called for freedom and allowing women to wear whatever they wished. However, thank God, the people of Kuwait rejected that culture. Now again, the fad of women sports has appeared. People have been attempting to introduce women’s sports in the country since 1950s and these satanic attempts continue to take place. Some officials and influential women who have sway over the government and lawmakers are supporting and encouraging women’s sports.
“When some people and Islamist MPs opposed, the defenders of so-called freedom threatened to grill Minister of Social Affairs and Labor.”

  “The Civil Service Commission (CSC) recently published statistics about sick leaves issued to Kuwaiti employees in 2009 and the least we can say is that the number was overwhelmingly high,” columnist Dr Sajed Al-Abdali wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“If the numbers are seen by any outsider, who does not know the country and its people, he will think people of Kuwait are affected by many diseases and there are several epidemics here. Else, what does one make of the fact that a million sick leaves were issued to more than one-third of Kuwaiti employees in just one year.
“Although the Ministry of Health claims that it is strict about issuing sick leaves, we realize that it is easy for Kuwaiti employees to get a sick leave from any clinic or health center for any minor excuse. Consequently, the development plan will be in vain if steps are not taken to increase productivity of employees.”

“No one questioned the constitutional right of lawmakers to grill erring ministers and use this tool if the need arises,” Ahmad Bin Fahad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“Any lawmaker can use this tool to stop any executive defect or address issues, especially if nothing happens after using all the possible means and tools.  We have expressed our opinion regarding the grilling of the information minister.  Actually, the grilling points are weak but some people, who are against the minister for political or personal reasons, does not welcome this idea.
“The most important factor behind the weakness of the grilling points is that the request was presented after the public observed cooperation between the two legislative and executive authorities.  It also came at a time when the government accomplished something great.  Even the leaders of the Popular Labor Bloc have lauded the executive with regards to the development plan.”

“Statements issued recently by members of the Negative Phenomenon Committee at the National Assembly on prohibiting the Kuwaiti women’s team from participating in international sports competitions are not in line with the Islamic Sharia,” Mutlaq Mesaed Al-Ajmi wrote for Awan daily.
“It is shocking to hear the members of this panel utter such statements.  They have interfered in the functions of other authorities.  People have right to engage in sports activities regardless of their age or gender because these activities are good for their health.
“Those who consider the participation of women in sports competitions as a negative phenomenon must correct their stand on the issue.  It is disheartening for the people to hear the committee members threatening to grill the concerned ministers in case they fail to stop women from participating in public sports events.”

“Our tradition does not permit the use of statues or moving objects to depict the personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),” Mubarak Fahad Al-Duwailah wrote for Arrouiah daily.
“The culture also prohibits depicting the nakedness of women, which nobody has the right to see except those who marry them. Our tradition emphasizes that injustice is darkness in the Day of Judgment, while justice and fairness concerning rights and responsibilities is fundamental in judgment.
“Whether Aseel accepts this fact or Fouhad becomes upset with traditions, it remains a fundamental truth nobody can contest. The Islamist Bloc is always mindful of the larger society whenever it comments on society related phenomena seeing that it has an adequate knowledge of life”.

“Islamic Republic of Iran is the official name of our dear neighbor, which consists of seven major tribes, and with some of the tribes numbering about 7,000,000 people, Faisal Abdul-Aziz Al-Zamel wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“The country does not allow a single tribe to dominate others, and this is why it abandoned the old name Persia under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. The leader belonged to Athari tribe, which signified the choice was perfect even before it became the Islamic Republic.
“We understand the concept of Islam incorporated with the name superseded all tribal affiliations, and plan by some people in the country to link the name to the Gulf is out of place. The move is like a step backward to the people inside and outside Iran.”

“There was news published recently with the headline “Six Israeli militia women select those to be killed in Gaza”. This headline caught the attention of readers, Meshari Abdullah Al-Hamad wrote for Alam Al-Youm daily.
“As I read the story, I discovered there was an operations room less than one kilometer from Gaza, where young women aged between 18 and 19 years were monitoring the border. These girls are in charge of recording unusual incidents, while ordering several other young women to shoot certain targeted persons. Women in that age group should be in school to develop their skills in life, yet they would rather dedicate their early lives to serve as tools of destruction.
“Our problem in this part of the world watching those young ladies use camera to kill our brothers, while our writers continue to criticize all situations but never think of the need to protect innocent youths who fall victim to the Zionist atrocities.”

“The Arabian Gulf countries were able to convince the UN to name the Gulf in the region Arabian Gulf instead of Persian Gulf. This was not an attempt to change or fake history, it is merely respecting the name which the international community granted. Similar arguments took place between France and Britain over the name of a Gulf in the region and both wanted it to name after their respective countries. The clash stayed until 17th century,” columnist Salah Waheedi wrote for Al-Dar daily.
“The Gulf sea is called Arabian Gulf in the Arab world and Iran, which is on the other side, calls it Persian Gulf. There is no need to create chaos over the matter.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb