Panel rejects bill to impose DIWANIYA fees on expats ...satisfaction of the criminal entity, Israel...

‘Crimes to soar if tyrants stay’

‘World must move in right way’“FOLLOWING the assault on Pariswhich has been claimed by theIslamic State (IS) or the so-called‘DAESH’, the US President BarackObama has declared the terroristcrimes that have been carried out inParis are crimes against humanity notonly against France,” columnist, theDeputy Chairman of the IslamicHeritage Revival Society (IHRS) andthe Dean of the College of theTechnological Studies at the PublicAuthority for Applied Education andTraining (PAAET) Dr Wael Al-Hasawi wrote for Al-Rai dailySunday.

“While we agree with Obama thatterrorism doesn’t belong to a specificreligion, a specific State or a specificpeople since it targets the entire humanrace the question is: Does the civilizedworld realize these facts when dealingwith the interests of the people aroundthe world or closes its eyes and ignoresthe pains andthe tragedies ofthe persecutedpeople?

“We haverepeatedly saidthat the entireworld shall paythe price of itssilence to whathas been hap-pening in Syriafor the past fiveyears which is a gross violation againsthumanity.

“In this context, we say for the past40 years the Syrians have been facinggenocide and persecution in its formwhich has peaked over the past fiveyears. The Syrians have suffered at thehands of the incumbent president andhis father respectively just to meet thesatisfaction of the criminal entity,Israel and to defend it.

“In spite of the above, the ‘civi-lized world’ stood idle instead ofdealing with ‘a criminal’ who hasmassacred his people. We have seenthe involvement of some other coun-tries in the panicky situations annihi-lating the Syrians and supporting thecriminals.

“We had earlier highlighted theimpacts of oppression and persecutionfacing the Palestinians for more thansixty or seventy years represented bythe confiscation of their lands andmurder of their children.

“In spite of the above, we found the‘civilized world’ instead of makinghaste to deter the criminals only issuedresolutions over the Palestinian causethrough its ‘window’ — the UnitedNations (UN) — but unfortunately,these resolutions did nothing to endthe Palestinian torment, rather the res-olutions only boosted the dominationof the criminals on Palestine.

“Following this the criminals sparedno efforts to enhance the suffering ofthe Palestinians and this became evi-dent when a decision was taken recent-ly by the Zionist entity to allow its sol-diers to kill any suspicious movement(person) even children and the killerwill not face the law.

“Likewise, we have realized that theso-called ‘creative anarchy’ put inplace by the Americans in Iraq andtheir decision to hand over Baghdad toTehran on a silver platter will not gounpunished.

“However, although the rational andwise people of these countries arelooking forward to get rid of this trag-ic reality, they don’t like to surmountthe same through violence or by force,but unfortunately young people whoare raised in the midst of such tragicevents are witness to the tragedies suf-fered by their parents and elder sib-lings.

“And what about the young menwho are taught to reject injustice andturn down restrictions put on them byothers particularly their freedoms andthe freedoms of others, particularlywhen they see the crimes committedagainst humanity by criminal leadersin their countries who have grabbedpower at the expense of their peopleand have begun monopolizing both thesources of weapons and to an extentthey have dominated some terroristorganizations.

“We have seen the terrorist opera-tions which have been carried outrecently. Take for example the down-ing of a Russian airliner over the SinaiPeninsula of Egypt. Likewise, we havealso seen the terrorist operation thatwas carried out on the southern out-

skirts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut,the stronghold of Hezbollah.

“However, the above happenedbecause both Russia and Hezbollah atthe moment are involved in persecut-ing and torturing the Syrian people,although, we have repeatedly said theSyrian victims are civilians and shouldnot be punished for the crimes com-mitted by their leaders.

“Anyway, we expect the crimes tosoar and aggravate, if the entireworld does not move in the properdirection and as long as the ‘butch-ers’ rule over the people, we will con-tinue to see devastation, killings anddeath.”

Also: “Terrorism is an unjustifiable act

irrespective of the circumstances andreasons behind it,” columnistAbdulmohsen Juma’a wrote for Al-Jarida daily Sunday.

“What occurred Friday evening inthe French capital, Paris was a brutalact of terrorism that must be con-demned by the entire world and mustdeclare solidarity with the French andsupport their government to arrest allthose who are involved in carrying outthis horrible crime.

“Undoubtedly the big loser of thisbrutal crime after the victims will beMuslims and Arabs.

“Yes, terrorism should be coun-tered by decisive force, but thisshould not come at the expense ofreason or at the expense of othereffective measures. Of course, theoption of reason is something whichis rejected by both the Europeans andthe Americans.

“It is needless to say both theEuropeans and the Americans mustrealize that they are dealing with theEast — the Arab world — and eventu-ally keep in mind that the Arabs repre-sent the heart of the world and thecentre of various civilizations andreligions dated back to thousands ofyears.

“Meanwhile, the Europeans and theAmericans, should keep in mind thatwhatever the volume of their mightand potentials to impose their will onthis part of the world, it is needless tosay this imposition will not last longand when that happens the price willbe to huge to pay.

“In fine and without going throughthe depth of history and its associa-tions, we would like here to emphasizethat what has occurred in Paris, can bemostly ascribed to a manner that hasbeen followed by both the Europeansand the Americans in the region.

“You, the Europeans and theAmericans were the ones who plantedIsrael in the region and Paris through-out the decade of the 1950s wasinvolved in providing the Hebrew statenuclear weapons to enable it to rejectall proposals necessary for a peacefulsettlement. Moreover, this support hasconsecrated the Israeli occupation ofArab territories.

“In spite of the above, we wonderwhy we see a young Frenchman ofArab or Muslim extraction embrac-ing extremism. We tell such peoplethat this happened because thisyoung man has seen Israeli soldierskilling a Palestinian child in cold-blooded manner and then destroyinghis home and building settlements forthe Jews.

“Meanwhile, we would like toremind both the Europeans and theAmericans that since they have mis-used Islamic fundamentalism in col-laboration with some despotic regimesfor the sake of encountering the thenSoviet Union during the so-called‘Cold War’ instead of supporting thedemocratic and civil movements in theArab world, this rejection actuallyresulted in the disappearance of thesemovements.

“Not just that, both the Europeansand the Americans over the past threeyears between 2011 and 2014, havemade more dangerous moves in theMiddle East region by pulling woolover their eyes and ignoring the atroc-ities of Bashar Al-Assad of Syria incollaboration with Iran and both theLebanese and Iraqi militias.

“However, amid such atmospheres,the Islamic State (IS) or the so-called‘DAESH’ was born at the end of 2013the time when Al-Assad made use ofthe chemical weapons against his peo-ple in Al-Gouta.

“This happened, while both theEuropeans and the Americans were

standing idle in response to pressuresput on them by Israel. We found boththe US and Britain refraining frompunishing the Al-Assad regime.”

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“The Institute of PoliticalDevelopment in Bahrain is a veryimportant one. Its Board of Trustees isheaded by the Advisor to the King forInformation Affairs Nabil Yacoub Al-Hamar,” Sami Abdulatif Al-Nesf wrotefor Al-Anba daily.

“The institute organizes valuableseminars and lectures for which theyinvite lecturers from all parts of theworld. We had recently attended thisyear’s event for which the keynotespeaker was the General Manager ofAl-Arabiya Channel Turki Al-Dakhil.He delivered a comprehensive lectureon the “Ideologies of Mutual Hatred.”He discussed manifestation of reli-gious and sectarian militarization thatis synonymous with Sunni and Shiitechannels. He indicated that religiousspeeches delivered by Muslim sectsdo not encourage consolidation ofpeace.

“After his session, three otherimportant sessions followed for dis-cussions on the role of conventionaland contemporary media in consoli-dating social security and putting anend to hate speeches.

“In this vein, we suggest that theGCC and Arab League should estab-lish similar institutes in all Arabnations, considering the weakness ofpolitical development and awareness.”

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“Words cannot describe theachievements of HH the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad who is a leader thatthe entire world is proud of him as theAmir of politics and diplomacy,”columnist Khalid Al-Arafah wrote forAl-Anba daily.

“Each time HH the Amir achievesexcellence he directly boosts the nameof the State of Kuwait through his dili-gent efforts to settle conflicts amongleaders and solve pending problemsbetween countries. He deserves thetitle of father of wisdom and diploma-cy.

“HH the Amir rightfully deservesthe title of ‘Humanitarian Leader’which has been bestowed on him bythe United Nations due to his charitywork in the name of Kuwait every-where in the world.

“It is not strange that two days agohe was chosen to win the award ofmost influential leader in the Arabworld in 2014. The selection has comedue to his achievements on the internaland external fronts particularly hisdiligent efforts towards Arab reconcil-iation and the unlimited support whichKuwait gives to less fortunatenations.”

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“I wonder when this country willwake up and when the governmentwill realize the danger the country ispassing through because the situationhas reached a critical point on theverge of collapse,” columnist,Constitutional Expert and the Dean ofKuwait University’s Faculty of LawDr Mohammad Al-Moqatei wrote forAl-Qabas daily.

“The justice has been shaken; theoil prices have tumbled down to $42from $105 a barrel; the real estatemarket continues to be monopolizedand corruption and bribe is wide-spread in most institutions, not tomention the conflict between mem-bers of the ruling family and thenational unity is in a state of decom-position.

“All these factors are signs that acountry can collapse overnight startingwith its institutions which will soonlose its glamour, respect and power.

“They will become structures ofcorruption and political exploitationaccompanied by a crash in values andgood manners, bringing social reper-cussions that will affect the socialsecurity and stability.

“In spite of clear futuristic dangersthe country will be confrontingbecause of these dangerous signs, thegovernment has yet to come with solu-tions to deal with serious issues in aresponsible manner, which means thecountry is nearly going to sink with noone to rescue the sinking ship, andwhen that happens, nothing will cometo your rescue.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb

ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

4LOCAL

Al-Hasawi

DIWANIYAa digest of public opinion

Panel rejects bill to imposefees on expats remittances

MP files grilling against minister

By Abubakar A. IbrahimArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 15: Theparliamentary Legislative andLegal Affairs Committee onSunday rejected a bill submit-ted by MP Kamel Al-Awadhito amend the Central Bank ofKuwait Law in order toimpose five percent fee on theremittances of expatriates.

Speaking to reporters after thecommittee meeting, Rapporteur MPAhmad Al-Qudaidi confirmed theyalso discussed the Public Authorityfor Industry Bill and forwarded it tothe relevant committee.

He added the committee approved therequest of the Public Prosecution to lift theimmunity of MP Nabil Al-Fadel on pressmisdemeanor cases, but rejected the samerequest for MP Abdullah Al Maayouf.

The committee postponed discussionson the request to lift the immunity of MPSaleh Ashour as he intends to attend thenext meeting.

Al-Qudaibi went on to say the pre-trialproceedings in the Criminal Code will bethe same in terms of the periods, indicat-ing there is no change in the periods formisdemeanor cases.

On the other hand, MP SaadounHamad Al-Otaibi submitted Sunday hisgrilling request against Minister of PublicWorks, Electricity and Water Ahmad Al-Jassar to National Assembly SpeakerMarzouq Al-Ghanim.

The three-point interpellation motion isbased on Article 100 of the Constitution,stating that, “Every member of theNational Assembly may address interpella-tion motions to the prime minister and min-isters on matters under their jurisdiction.”

The lawmaker intends to grill the min-ister on the supposed financial andadministrative irregularities and suspi-cion of encroachment on public funds inrelation to the awarding of a tender forthe establishment and furnishing of a newterminal at Kuwait International Airport.

It can be recalled that Al-Jassar sub-mitted his resignation to the Cabinet latein September, and it has not been accept-ed nor rejected. On Sept 29, then actingPrime Minister and Interior MinisterSheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah notified the Cabinet onAl-Jassar’s resignation letter which wasaddressed to HH the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. This was followed by a decision

View on e-media bill: Minister ofInformation and Minister of State forYouth Affairs Sheikh Salman SabahSalem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah onSunday delivered the government’sview on the e-media draft law to aParliament committee.

Sheikh Salman explained to theEducation, Culture and GuidanceAffairs Committee at the NationalAssembly the philosophy behind thebill as well as the goals, and how itwill bridge a gap in the regulation ofKuwait’s national media, the ministersaid in a press statement.

In addition, the new bill is consid-ered a support to the Audio-VisualMedia, and Printing and PublishingLaws, he added.

During the meeting, Sheikh Salmanlistened to remarks offered by commit-tee members on their relevant efforts,noting that all share the same trench toserve Kuwait and back efforts to boostthe role of national media. (KUNA)

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Dates changed: Undersecretary ofMinistry of Education Dr Haitham Al-Atari has decided to change the start-ing day of the academic year2016/2017 for middle and high schoollevel to Sept 18, 2016 instead of theearlier-announced date Sept 11, 2016,reports Al-Seyassah daily.

He revealed that the date has beenchanged because the earlier-announceddate coincides with Eid al-Adha holi-days, indicating that the decision issupplement to the decision issued onJune 16, 2015 concerning the schoolcalendar of 2015/2016, which necessi-tated some changes.

Dr Al-Atari explained that theschedule of those working in all aca-demic and kindergarten levels willstart on Sept 4, 2016. However, thekindergarten and first year intermedi-ate students will report back to schoolon Sept 7, 2016. The other intermedi-ate students will report back on Sept 8,2016 while the middle and high schoolstudents will report back on Sept 18,2016.

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Check on prices: Vice-Presidentof Consumer Protection PrivateAssociation Khalid Al-Subaei revealedthe prices of about 1,000 products inthe local market increased within oneyear only, reports Al-Nahar daily.

He disclosed the association sur-veyed the local market to check theprices of commodities and the resultsshowed that prices rose within a year.He said the committee tasked to moni-tor prices is now studying 1,200 otherproducts to determine the level ofprice increase.

News in Brief

on assigning State Minister for CabinetAffairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-AbdullahAl-Mubarak Al-Sabah to handle theMinistry of Electricity and Water, whileState Minister for Housing Affairs YasserAbul was assigned to the Ministry ofPublic Works.

Meanwhile, the Financial andEconomic Committee set its priorities forthe current legislative round, whichinclude the Tenders and CommercialAgencies Bill, in addition to the amend-ment of the Planning Law and Facilitiesand Services Fees Act.

Committee Chairman MP Faisal Al-Shaya explained the amendments to theSocial and Economic Planning Lawinclude the removal and revision of cer-tain words or terms.

He added the Legislative Committeeconsiders it unconstitutional to amend theFacilities and Services Fees Act as the gov-ernment increases fees without the law, sothe Finance Committee will study the pro-posed amendment in its next meeting.

Moreover, Minister of Information andState Minister for Youth Affairs SheikhSalman Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah disclosedhis ministry has presented its viewpointon the Electronic Media Law to the par-liamentary Education, Culture andGuidance Affairs Committee.

He confirmed the ministry explainedall the goals of this regulatory project,which aims to address loopholes in theexisting regulations for national mediawith the support of the Press andPublications Law.

On sports issue, the minister claimedthat those who sought to suspend localsports are now pushing for Kuwait’s par-ticipation in international events. Heasserted that as a sovereign State, Kuwaitrejects participation under the Olympicflag. He stressed Kuwait will not partici-pate unless the Kuwaiti flag is flying. Herevealed the Sports Authority has submit-ted another letter to the OlympicCommittee of Kuwait indicating its com-mitment to international laws.

DAESH mole planning hit nabbed

Ghanaian nurse cheated, returns to home country KUWAIT CITY, Nov 15: A 28-yearGhanaian nurse, identified only as E.B.,is said to have returned to her countryafter being cheated by her agent, reportsAl-Rai daily.

According to the daily, E.B., waspromised a lucrative job as a nurse in aGulf country but after she landed inKuwait her passport and other documentswere seized and was sold to a family towork as a housemaid.

E.B was also forced to undergo a med-ical check-up and the result showed shewas one month pregnant and her agentadvised her to abort the baby but sherefused.

She therefore called the agent in Ghanaand requested him to help her return toGhana but he refused.

E.B. then informed her husband inGhana who subsequently filed a com-plaint with the police accusing the agentbelieved to be the Managing Director of a

travel agency. He was subsequentlyarrested on Nov 3, this year.

According to reports the agentinformed E.B. that Kuwait needed somenurses and that if she is interested sheshould pay money to process her papers,which she did and she was subsequentlyflown to Kuwait to take up her job.

However, when she arrived in Kuwait,she was sold to a family to work in a housewhere she not only was humiliated but suf-fered due to maltreatment and abuse.

The agent in Kuwait also refused tohelp her to return to Ghana and she wasallowed to go only after her husbandbought the ticket in October this year.

The accused has been charged withhuman trafficking and exploitation and isbelieved to be out on bail.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated develop-ment, an employee of the Joint OperationsDepartment of the Wafra Oilfield andidentified only as B.H., has been referred

to the State Security police for interroga-tion after he admitted to being DAESHmole to carry out a terrorist act at his worksite, reports Al-Shahed daily.

According to the daily, the man toldofficers during interrogation that his taskwas to carry out an act of sabotage at thejoint operations site between Kuwait andSaudi Arabia.

A security source said the employeedriving a pickup truck entered the com-pany gate to go to his work place andbecause he looked confused he wasreferred to the company’s security controldepartment where he reportedly admittedto being a DAESH mole and that his planwas to carry out a terrorist attack.

The source added, bomb disposalexperts rushed to the site of the incidentand checked the pickup truck but failed tofind the explosives.

Investigations with the suspect arecontinuing.