Kuwait: MPs ‘Playing’ With Emotions

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah 
This commentary was published in The Arab Times on 05/06/2011 

The situation in Kuwait has been deteriorating and it might remain this way for a long time if some lawmakers continue to disagree with the prime minister and his ministers, while trying to outdo each other in filing grilling requests without any concern for national interests.

A fierce opponent does not accept the truth. Luckily, the law stipulates a suitable solution for this type of enmity and antagonism to protect the victim from evil and preserve his rights. The solution is to file lawsuits against those who present legal challenges.

In the sea of parliamentary interpellations submitted by some lawmakers, we are facing an archenemy, because the presenters of the grilling motions have not given the government a chance at all. Several grilling motions were filed against HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and his ministers right after the oath-taking of the new government.

Considering that the National Assembly is the proper place for political prosecution, in which judgments are passed through constitutional tools, it is pertinent to point out that all the previous rulings were in favor of the prime minister. The verdict of innocence was delivered when a majority in the Parliament supported him. Despite this, the troublesome lawmakers rejected the declarations of innocence and continued with their enmity, up to the extent of taking to the streets after their failure inside the Abdullah Al-Salem Hall.

What we have today is a minority dictatorship that wants to impose its political ideas and demands on others, using unnecessary noise as its weapon. The members of this group will exhaust all means to serve their personal interests. This is the level of their political bankruptcy and bewilderment. They have not hesitated in using even children, whom they pushed towards the shameful protests, carrying placards to demand the ouster of the prime minister.

No one in his right mind will use children who should have been concentrating on their studies, not the street protests, except the people with absurd political objectives. These children may not even know who is Sheikh Nasser or MP Musallam Al-Barrak. They might not even understand the meaning of the Constitution, or the fact that Kuwait is an independent nation ruled by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The quarrelsome group used the children to implement its selfish agendas, as if it was betting on a confrontation with the security forces and praying that it leads to the killing or harming of a child to replicate the incidents in some Arab nations. However, they were disappointed when things did not happen as they have expected.

It is still possible for these lawmakers to save their efforts and time. Without taking to the streets under this hot and dusty weather, they can say whatever they wish. No one would have disturbed them because the margin of freedom in Kuwait is greater than what they could imagine. They can express their opinions through a number of channels — the television, local dailies, and the National Assembly which, by the way, is the right venue for them to discuss issues with cool heads. This is the place where they will not have to go through the pains of playing with people’s emotions or disturbing the streets. Here, they don’t have to distort facts or use crises to blame the parliamentary majority for the misdeeds of the minority!

On the saying that there is an opportunity in every difficulty, the chaos instigated by these people has a positive side — they lose their supporters and weaken their mobilizing power every time they try to spread enmity. Their political ideologies, which are far from the ideals of the society, are feeble. In the near future, we will not see anyone but these lawmakers in the protest actions, because even their secretaries would have deserted them by then!

Ahmed Al-Jarallah is the Editor-In-Chief of The Arab Times and the Arabic Daily Assyassah