21/04/2021
24268 times read
21/04/2021
24268 times read
THE parliamentary session of “Black Tuesday” can be considered as unprecedented in Kuwait’s democracy, which dates back to more than 60 years.
Throughout that period, MPs (except for a few) have been patient and respectful of one another. They adhered to the etiquette of public speaking and behavior, especially in places of public gathering. When the highest Kuwaiti political body meets, it is equal or supposed to be equal to the gathering of ministers in their meetings, and the gathering of judges in their meetings.
I personally witnessed the ministers and members of the National Assembly in their assemblies, as well as judges in their deliberation rooms and their meetings with each other and with lawyers. I have never seen in my life a moral decline in their speech or behavior like the kind I recently witnessed in the actions of some MPs of the December 5 Parliament, especially during the parliamentary session last Tuesday.
What I saw can be compared to what happened in the past among the brokers in Souk Al-Haraj branching from Al-Gharabally Street and Souk Al-Safeer. However, those brokers have not received any education, and their violent behavior was aimed at defending their bread and butter, and the sustenance of their families. Such was the negative scene during the Black Tuesday session.
Another event had taken place during the session without provoking anyone. We came to know about it from social media (may God bless the one who invented it).
From social media, we came across a letter signed by our Minister of Health - the young Sheikh Basil Al-Sabah - who was trembling from the grilling threat posed by a number of MPs. It pleased most of the citizens and residents whose lives had been turned upside down because of the volatile decisions issued by our Minister of Health, the young Sheikh.
The letter of the Health Minister was addressed to the National Assembly Speaker, informing that he will be accompanied by 49 employees of the Ministry of Health, including the Undersecretary, to attend the grilling session of the Black Tuesday session, even though the Constitution and the relevant regulations gave him the right to request for postponement for a period of two weeks.
This is unprecedented in the history of either Kuwait’s National Assembly, or the British House of Commons or the American Congress and others. Unfortunately, this is evidence of the fact that some of those who took note of the news expressed their lack of confidence in the Minister of Health’s logic and defense of his decisions.
We are unable to imagine how such a huge number of employees of the Ministry of Health will be able to defend their young Sheikh when he stands shivering on the grilling podium. It is the rise of our old neighbors to help, with a difference in the number of individuals, but we live in an era of unprecedented wonders in the modern and old history of Kuwait.
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By Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli
Former Minister of Oil