Kuwait recalls invasion; Amir’s role in liberation noted

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KUWAIT CITY, Aug 1: The Cabinet held its weekly session on Monday at Seif Palace, headed by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Sabah. After the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Issa Ahmad Al-Kandari stated the following: On the 33rd anniversary of the brutal Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, which will be on Wednesday, the State of Kuwait, its leadership and people recall with pain and bitterness the crime of treachery committed by the Iraqi regime army in dawn of August 2, 1990.

The Cabinet recalls with appreciation and reverence the prominent role-played by His Highness late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, and His Highness the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and their efforts to liberate Kuwait from occupation. The Cabinet evokes the steadfastness of the Kuwaiti people and their heroic sacrifices in the face of treacherous aggression, which is a model of national unity.

The Council of Ministers also recalls the great sacrifices made by the righteous martyrs of Kuwait, who offered their pure blood as a sacrifice for Kuwait, asking the Almighty God to shower them with the abundance of His mercy and to dwell them in His spacious gardens.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet renews its deep gratitude and appreciation to all those who contributed from the brotherly and friendly countries to the liberation of our dear homeland, praying to Allah Almighty to perpetuate the blessing of security and stability for us under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. In a historically unforgotten epic, most world countries had stood united as a single group to stand by Kuwait’s leadership, government and people against the heinous Iraqi invasion on August 2, 1990.

This black day would remain engraved in the minds and memories of the Kuwaiti people for good, including new generations that learn about all relevant painful details from their fathers and grandfathers.

On that day, Iraqi forces advanced into Kuwaiti territories in a dreadful aggression that ruthlessly targeted the occupation of the country, undermined its freedom and attempted to wipe out its legitimacy, using the most abhorrent methods of murdering, detaining and torturing civilians, striking at civilian and military locations, dispossessing and intimidating people. Despite the painfulness of the Iraqi invasion, let alone its catastrophic ramifications and impacts on all aspects of life in the country, Kuwaitis have been trying hard to bury the hatchet and turn over a new chapter of good relationships, neighborliness and joint interests.

Remembering 33 years since the Iraqi invasion, the Kuwaiti people would always remain grateful to world countries, mainly the United States, Gulf, Arab and friendly countries, for their highly commended efforts against oppression, and their support for Kuwait’s liberation. Immediately following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) heled an emergency session, as requested by many countries, on August 3, 1990, and adopted Resolution 660 that condemned the invasion and called on Iraq to pull its forces out of Kuwait immediately and unconditionally. The US and Soviet Union deplored the Iraqi move and called on Baghdad to immediately withdraw its forces from Kuwait.

The foreign ministers of Muslim countries met in Cairo for their 19th session and adopted a statement urging the Iraqi army to leave Kuwaiti territories, while Non- Aligned Movement (NAM) ambassadors convened in New York to denounce the Iraqi invasion and demand Iraqi army pullout. Only a few days after the Iraqi military action, the US tabled a draft resolution to the UNSC imposing comprehensive economic and military sanctions on Iraq in a bid to force it withdraw from Kuwait in line with the UNSC resolution adopted just a few hours following the invasion.

The UNSC approved the US-forwarded draft resolution after having revised it and added some items, adopting its Resolution 661 on August 6, the second since the invasion, in a move that reflected its determination to put an end to the occupation of Kuwait and to help it regain its sovereignty and territorial integrity. As developments went on, peace-loving countries had to dispatch forces to the region, and immediately, various world capitals had contracts in order to mobilize an international coalition, particularly after the UNSC adopted a third resolution on the occupation of Kuwait, Resolution 662, in which the UN underlined its categorical opposition to Iraq’s decision to annex Kuwait as being “null and void”.

The third UNSC resolution also called on all countries, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize the Iraqi annexation attempt. Only several weeks following the Iraqi invasion, Arab and international vanguard forces began to flow to Saudi lands as part of an international coalition to liberate Kuwait, concurrently with the fourth UNSC Resolution 664 which reiterated Iraq’s attempted annexation of Kuwait as being “invalid”. Afterwards, the five major countries of the UNSC agreed on a draft resolution authorizing the use of military force against Iraq due to its reluctance to pull out of Kuwait. In late November 1990, the UNSC adopted several resolutions related to Iraq, mainly Resolution 677, which warned Iraq of the consequences of its attempts to wipe out the identity of Kuwait and settle Iraqis in Kuwait, stressing the significance of keeping smuggled copies of Kuwait’s population registry.

The UNSC, then, adopted Resolution 678, which authorizes all necessary means to ensure compliance with previous resolutions and gives Iraq a deadline until January 15, 1991 to pull its forces out of Kuwait, or it would be at war with the international coalition forces. After the UNSC Resolution No. 678 authorizing the use of military force against Iraq had been adopted, events developed so quickly at local, regional and global levels. At the dawn of January 7, 1991, the international coalition’s forces commenced their major attack on Iraqi military and strategic sites in Kuwait and Iraq as a prelude to the liberation of Kuwait. They launched an air attack on Iraqi military facilities and bases, public facilities, bridges, water and electricity stations, as well as 60 military bases.

The international coalition started preparations for a ground attack on Iraqi forces in Kuwait, with then US President George Bush having greenlit the coalition forces’ commander Norman Schwarzkopf, to launch the ground attack shortly before the end of the UN deadline. Consequently, the Iraqi army collapsed under the international forces’ strikes, and the Kuwaiti forces began to return to the country on February 26, 1991. Remembering the invasion after 33 years, Kuwaitis would remain grateful to the late Saudi King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud for having hosted the Kuwaiti leadership and people, along with the Egyptian leadership for having supported Kuwait from the very beginning of the invasion. (KUNA)

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