People belong to the land as much as the land belongs to its people. Therefore, no matter how harsh the sovereign measures are, there should be enough compassion to compel everyone to leave the matter to the ruler and the government. This includes the citizenship issue, for which the ruler and the government have the authority to take whatever measures are necessary to address it.
However, on the other hand, some people, who consider themselves above accountability, use the social media to spread poison without regard for people’s feelings. If someone were to suffer harm, they would seek help and prayers from others. These people forget the eternal wisdom: “As you sow, so shall you reap.” As we have said regarding the sensitive citizenship issue, the people have entrusted the matter to the ruler and the Council of Ministers. May Allah bring everyone out of this crisis safely.
Nevertheless, we must pause to ponder on what is circulated on social media, especially by those who mock, ridicule and tarnish the reputation of those whose citizenship was revoked, with a gloating tone, as if there is vendetta between them. While freedom of expression is guaranteed, there are limits. People’s feelings should not be sold or bought. No one has the right to slander or bully others. Until recently, those whose citizenship was revoked were citizens with full rights, just like any other Kuwaiti. They have children and grandchildren. They have feelings.
Most of them served this country, and some even gave their lives for it. Some of them left their mark on the nation’s history, hence, gloating is inhumane. No one has the right to harm their dignity. Thus, it is the duty of the relevant authorities to address this issue and stop those who disrupt social stability. Indeed, many who were subject to these procedures have no other homeland than this country. Today, the number of illegal residents (Bedouns) has increased.
We have said many times before that their problem must be solved either by granting opportunities to travel to other countries and rectify their status, or by obtaining passports from the countries to which they were assigned. The State must find a way out for them in order to alleviate the burden of the State and to end their suffering. Yes, I emphasize that no one is questioning the sovereign procedures. Nonetheless, we reiterate that the relevant authorities must rein in those who are fanning the flames, pretending to be the sole defenders of sovereign decisions, when their methods are often vulgar and offensive. Undoubtedly, no official condones this. We have statesmen at the highest levels of the sovereign and executive branches with a humanitarian perspective. They bear a great and crucial responsibility.
On this basis, they refuse to tarnish people’s reputation, regardless of their circumstances, because a person is not held accountable for what is beyond his control. Human dignity remains protected for the accused. Even prisoners are protected from defamation. It has become imperative to stop those who use social media to attack individuals facing issues, such as citizenship revocation, because they do not represent the true nature of Kuwaitis, their culture or the customs and traditions upheld by the Kuwaiti society for four centuries.
These individuals must be restrained, because they are damaging Kuwait’s reputation abroad. Accordingly, we entrust this matter to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al- Yousef in order to prevent these individuals from inciting hatred among the people.
