“IT WILL neither be in the interest of the National Assembly nor the government or the Kuwaiti people if an amendment is incorporated into Article 14 of the Law No. 12/1963,” columnist and former MP Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily Monday.

“The suggested amendment calls for holding parliamentary sessions of the National Assembly during the absence of the government. In this context, the issue has nothing to do with either the duty of the MPs or their keenness to hold parliamentary sessions as some lawmakers believe.

“In this regard, we recollect how once the MPs held a session to discuss a draft law for the government to purchase the bad debts of the citizens. Although the bill was endorsed by the MPs, the government turned it down and sent it back to the National Assembly and the sole victims were the citizens because their dreams went with the wind. Not just that, the citizens have not benefited from the so-called Insolvents Fund.

“Such being the case, we have observed how some lawmakers prefer to play the game — holding the parliamentary sessions even during government absence. We have also discovered some of them are planning to play the same card in the name of their commitment to duty even if the government is absent from the scene.
“As a matter of fact, the Kuwaitis are currently eagerly looking forward for persistent cooperation between the executive body and the legislature because the citizens know this cooperation will serve their interests.

“Likewise, the Kuwaitis look forward for new legislations to be endorsed by both the government and the lawmakers for the good of the Kuwaiti citizens so that their life can be secure and appropriate solutions found for their problems away from political corruption.
“In this context, we say the Kuwaitis are aware of politics that are being played these days particularly the experiments undertaken by the consecutive Parliaments some of which had a happy ending.

“Consequently, it will be very difficult for the Kuwaitis to believe the ‘trick’ calls for holding parliamentary sessions in the absence of the government, because the citizens have realized that any bill or resolution that may be endorsed by the lawmakers in the absence of the government will be rejected by the Council of Ministers and returned to the National Assembly.

“Such being the case, we hope the MPs will think seriously about the health, housing, education, demographic structure of the citizens in addition to problems in the employment arena and traffic congestion, because we are fed up of the repeated attempts made by the concerned people to cheat the citizens at a time when the lawmakers were dealing with a draft law for the government to purchase the bad debts of the citizens but the bill was still born. “Hence, we suggest the proposed revision of Article 14 of the Law No. 12/1963 needs to be revised.”

Also:
“In light of the news reports carried by the news agencies on the Arab summit which concluded yesterday in Sirte, Libya, it is obvious the Arabs are incapable of finding necessary solutions to liberate the occupied part of Palestine,” prominent Kuwaiti columnist and attorney Mohammad Musaed Al-Saleh wrote for Al-Qabas daily Monday.
“This comes on the heels of repeated UN resolutions and consecutive Arab summits calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from the occupied part of Palestine. All seems to have gone in vain because the solution lies in the hands of the United States of America which is currently patronizing the Arab policies.

“I do believe the only new thing that has happened during the summit is the happy look on the face of the Libyan leader Col Muammar Al-Gaddafi. With regard to the resolutions which have been adopted by the summit, we suggest the only resolution that has any significance is the allocation of $500 million in support of the Palestinian steadfastness.
“But the question is: How this money will be disbursed. I think here rests the problem, particularly since we know the Palestinians either in the West Bank or in the Gaza Strip are living in a big jail and suffering from a choking siege that has been imposed on them by Israel.

“Such being the case, we expect the money which has been earmarked for supporting the Palestinian steadfastness will not reach its destination. In other words, the Palestinian cause will remain deadlocked and the proposed peaceful solutions and indirect negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis will be doomed to failure because the US in spite of its rejection of Israel building settlements on Palestinian territories has failed to stop Tel Aviv from carrying out its project.

“Speaking of a military solution, this requires sophisticated weapons and the Arabs are not in a position to provide it, because every Arab country is currently piling up weapons to defend their frontiers from ‘incursion’ by neighbors.
“Moreover, the United States of America will militarily support Israel. Hence, we expect the Arab summits to be hesitant because the Arabs have the solution but they cannot apply it.”

“May be the Sirte summit which has concluded yesterday in Libya, is one of the best Arab summits in recent years not only because of the significant resolutions which have been adopted, but because of the manner in which the summit’s sessions were managed,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awad wrote for Freedom Journal Monday.
“In this context, we say the Sirte summit held most of its sessions behind closed doors away from the media buzz because those taking part in the summit wanted real achievements and this was evident by their concentration on the Palestinian cause in general and City of Jerusalem in particularly.

“Consequently, we suggest the summit has realized a reasonable success although it has not risen to the expectations of Arab ambitions. However, it goes without saying it has realized the reasonable limits under the state of fragmentation which currently prevail in the Arab world in general and in Palestine in particular.
“Apart from the above, we suggest the agreement by Arab leaders to hold an extraordinary summit in September 2010 to follow up the implementation of the resolutions which have been adopted at the Sirte summit, is a significant achievement.
“This shows that the Arab leaders are aware of the danger the Arab nation is currently passing through — the phase crowned by the unprecedented Zionist arrogance and recklessness when dealing with the rights of Arabs, the international legitimacy and the Israeli behavior in the City of Jerusalem.”

“Anyone who has listened to the statements issued by US politicians about the Israeli arrogance and rejection of calls by Tel Aviv from the White House to cease building Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, will have inevitably observed that these statements are not commensurate to the arrogance and the challenging tone of the Israelis,” columnist Sultan Al-Khalaf wrote for Al-Anba daily Monday.
“In this context, we say although the Israeli military might has been fostered by virtue of support to Tel Aviv by the US military and although the former has rejected demands from Washington to halt the construction activity in occupied Palestine, Washington is still keen to emphasize on a daily basis its robust bonds with Israel.

“In this connection, we cite the statement which has been issued by Robert Gibes the White House spokesman saying ‘The differences between the United States of America and Israel over the plans related to the Jewish settlements will not change the US obligations towards the security of Israel’.
“This happened although the US official realizes that the building of settlements on the occupied Palestinian territories constitutes a violation to the peace process in the Middle East and has nothing to do with the Israeli security.
“Not just that, we have observed how the repeated US statements on Israeli settlements have refrained from referring to the dangers of the Israeli policy that may harm US interests in the Arab and Muslim countries.”

“After the grilling of Minister of Information, everyone thought the matter will settle down and we will have peace. But we forgot that those trying to create troubles and incite hatred are originally thieves and have embezzled public funds with which they have bought TV channels and newspapers. These people are trying to impose their political agenda through their media outlets. And some consultants, media men and others faking patriotism are just implementing the agenda of their big bosses – the big thieves,” columnist Mohammad Al-Mulla wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“These days, these people are trying to create trouble by instructing authorities to handle the file of dual nationality holders, privatize all profitable government authorities and notably, to transfer the National Assembly into a Shura Council. All these demands are basically aimed at sowing discord in the society.
“In fact, there already is a Shura Council, because some MPs obey and follow the orders of some other influential people. The Assembly is divided and each group is concerned about its own interests.”

“Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mudhi Al-Humoud crossed the red line by extending school hours. She has disregarded the advice of experienced academicians and has ignored the consequences of the decision at all levels,” columnist Mubarak Mohammad Al-Hajri wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“The Ministry of Education has many consultants and experts in all educational zones. Shouldn’t the minister consider their opinion before issuing her temperamental decision?
“Her Excellency knows that the weather in Kuwait is very hot compared to Europe and other cooler countries. Hence her decision to extend schools until 3.00 pm is a grave offence and she should be grilled for this.”

“Neurologist Dr Iyad Al-Allawi is the new Prime Minister of Iraq. He is a dual nationality holder; he is Iraqi by birth and has obtained British nationality under the nationality and residence law in UK. His mother is Lebanese and he is a liberal Shiite. He won the election after a severe electoral campaign,” columnist Nasser Al-Mutairi wrote for Al-Nahar daily.
“Immediately, after he was declared the winner, Allawi rushed to give Kuwait and other GCC members a ‘positive injection,’ by promising to settle all suspended issues with Kuwait.
“Even a political novice can understand that the statement was just a lip service and that Allawi did not really mean what he said. But, there is a possibility that the statement had dual meanings.”

“Those who have been closely monitoring the developments in Iraq since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Iraq-Iran War, and Iraqi invasion of Kuwait are confused,” Adel Hassan Dashti wrote for Al-Dar daily.
“The incidents that took place during the abovementioned period until recently are really perplexing. However I want to ask how the Arabs and some Kuwaitis can be happy over the possible return of the Baath Party in Iraq, using new names and masks. How can a Kuwaiti promote the revival of this party while the remains of our martyrs are still being kept in their land?
“What has prompted the Islamist Arabs to welcome and encourage the return of the secular party at a time when Islamists waged an endless war with the secularists in the latter’s homeland? What is the reason behind the celebration of some Arab satellite television channels in favor of this party despite the fact that they were talking earlier about the rigged elections and undue interference in the electoral proceedings?”

“In the past few years, the US has propagated the principles of free trade and globalization, while the countries watched by America have been compelled to adopt such principles, lest they would be isolated from the rest of the world,” Dr Ahmad Yousef Al-Duaij wrote for Al-Watan Arabic daily.
“However, time has proven their pointless ideology about the economy, after the global economic meltdown began from their country, and the US economy until now is suffering repercussions of the turmoil.
“The Director of US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in the beginning of May 2008, prior to emergence of the economic crisis, expected an end to the American supremacy over the world, and in view of the economy being America’s source of power; its greatest fear has been the possibility of the economy collapsing. 

“Apparently, the US may not recover from the economic downturn, with the Chinese Yen dominating the rest of the international currencies, which includes the US dollar”.
“Can we ask ourselves why we hate Jews to the extreme, so much that whenever somebody upsets us, we do not find a better description for his behavior than comparing him to a Jew?, Khalid Al-Hammad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“We might have possibly inherited this attitude or got used to it with the passing of time. Why is this exaggerated hatred toward those human beings? Are they not human beings, who have human features, like every other person? Are they not descendants of Adam and Yacoub that we are? Is it rooted in the territories they forcefully occupied or there are more serious issues behind it, so that we can trace history a little bit to find out whether they are right or wrong?

“Jews have long been living in that part of the world with serious hatred and bitterness toward others, because they are naturally racial and feel superior to others. They went to the extent of lying against God Almighty, since they claim to be the “chosen children of God” (God forbid). They have been carrying out destruction and atrocities that nobody dares commit on earth. They killed prophets, in addition to treachery, maiming, fornication, drinking alcohol and many other unruly activities against humanity.
“In this regard, will our hatred for them change a little if they return our territories, and they shake us with hands full of the blood of our Palestinian brothers?”

“The weakness or absence of the middle class is the major reason the Arab world is moving backward. Arab nations cannot develop, grow or achieve freedom without economic independence and an active middle class,” Dr Shafiq Nathem Ghabra wrote for Awan daily.
“The middle class is suffering from restrictions and oppressive laws that hinder its growth within the Arab countries because the governments own the means of production, land and wealth. Development in the Arab nations is at the grip of the government institutions and traders, who block all possible means of growth, just as the former Soviet Union did until it suddenly crashed. The situation has adversely affected stability, considering the growth of the middle class should have been a major foundation for development and guarantee for lasting stability.
“Dynamism and development in the West, where human rights, freedom and democratic practice thrive, could not have been possible without a strong middle class. The growth of the middle class in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries led to the clampdown on corruption and the elites controlling governance.
“The call for reform in some Arab nations can succeed if the countries become stronger than the organized groups, families, sects, tribes and traditions. The governments are merely toying with the future in the absence of the middle class.”

“Disagreements between the government and the Parliament can start any time on any of the issues like privatization, pay-scales, waiving of loan interests or amendments to social security law. They can also spark on more dangerous issues like tribalism and sectarian politics. All these disagreements affect the decision-making process in the country and disable many projects that are important to the country,” columnist Ahmad Al-Dayyen wrote for Alam Al-Yawm daily.
“Both authorities should learn to tackle such disagreements more objectively, like how it is done in the West and in some Arab countries like Lebanon and Algeria. If the government wants to launch a project, it should provide technical studies and all other related documents to the Parliament, in order to prove that it is important for the country.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb