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LOCAL ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2019 4 KUNA photo Undersecretary of Interior Ministry Lieutenant General Essam Al-Naham receives the American delegation. Kuwait, US cooperation in maritime security praised KPA, Defense ink protection deal KUWAIT CITY, July 16, (KUNA): Kuwaiti Undersecretary of Interior Ministry Lieutenant General Essam Al-Naham on Monday praised the continuous development and cooperation between Kuwait and the US in the maritime security fields to serve the common goals and aspirations. This came in a statement by Al-Naham issued by the ministry after a meeting with Commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command Admiral James Malloy accompanied by the Commander of the Combined forces 152 Captain Sheikh Mubarak Ali Al-Sabah. The two sides discussed a number of issues of common interest, espe- cially maritime security in the light of regional tensions. Al-Naham praised the efforts of the leaders of the Fifth Fleet and the joint naval forces in maintaining security and stability and promoting world peace, stressing the deep historical and strategic relations between the two countries and the importance of joint cooperation. For his part, Admiral Malloy expressed appreciation for the ministry of Interior efforts in strengthening cooperation with the US, praising the role of Kuwait’s Coast Guard and their effective efforts to secure the free flow of commercial vessels in the Arabian Gulf. ❑ ❑ ❑ Deal signed: Kuwait Ports Authority signed a joint cooperation protocol with Ministry of Defense, represented by the marine forces, with the aim of preparing security plans for ensuring protection of the ports in coordination with various authorities. In a press release, Director General of Kuwait Ports Authority Sheikh Yousef Al-Abdullah said it is crucial to sign this protocol for the region at this time. He stressed that tremendous efforts are necessary to achieve complete cooperation between the two parties for ensuring marine security in Kuwait, adding that Kuwait must be ready to deal with any emergencies. ‘Sizzlers’ to continue till end of July KUWAIT CITY, July 16: Kuwait’s weather has entered a ‘gale of fury’ that is expected to continue until the 28th of this month, with temperatures rising more than 50 degrees Celsius, reports Al-Rai daily. Astronomer Adel Al-Sa’adoun told the daily, “the coming days will be hot and expected to last for two weeks.” He added, “the temperature had subdued over the past two days because of the northerly winds which were accompanied with some dust particles causing the temperatures to drop to 45 degrees at 3 pm. “The weather may change at any moment due to factors such as winds or drop in pressure that may contribute to altering the air waves with high or low tempera- tures,” Sa’adoun said. “Humidity will set in at the beginning of next August.” Meanwhile, a defect in the iron tie-rods resulted in the collapse of tower in Sabah Al-Ahmad Marine City, reports Al-Seyassah daily. A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION DIWANIYA ‘Group’s timing cause for concern’ ‘Quick deportation raises eyebrows’ “LIKE us many others were surprised by the statement of the Ministry of Interior announcing the detection of a terrorist cell in Kuwait of eight Egyptians belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood Group of Egypt,” columnist and former MP Mubarak Fahd Al-Duwailah wrote for Al-Qabas daily. “The statement clarified that the members of this cell were involved in terrorist activities in Egypt and were convicted by the judiciary in Egypt. “However, the surprise for us was not the arrest of wanted people because we know that such ‘human meal’ has preceded many other ‘meals’ and it is likely that there will be many more. “But it is needless to say we are not concerned about this issue because the security and the stability of Kuwait shall remain above any other consideration. In other words, our national security will not be subjected to any type of bargaining irrespective of who violates this security. “Such being the case, I am not reminding the dear reader of our precedence in this connection that con- firms this fact. This precedence refers that when we come across a ‘mistake’ committed by some members of the Muslim Brotherhood organization when Saddam Hussein invaded and occupied the State of Kuwait in 1990, we severed our ties with the Group and we changed the name of our organization to ‘The Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM)’ for the sake of the State of Kuwait. “But the surprise element of the statement in question rests in many aspects; viz the declaration of the detection of the relevant cell under the current timing, because many people holding the Egyptian nationality have been deported following the request by their government in Egypt through ‘Interpol’, but no announcement has been made in this respect. “In other words, the announcement of busting a ter- rorist cell of the Muslim Brotherhood is something strange and unprecedented, because no decision had been issued by the government of Kuwait about ‘devil- ing’ the Muslim Brotherhood or declaring this organiza- tion ‘terrorist’, and moreover, their crimes were not published, hence conducting an investigation with them shall prove that the verdicts which were issued against them were issued in other known country which is pass- ing through exceptional circumstances. “Personally speaking, I was informed that a verdict had been issued against one of the eight people in his country in 2013 for participating in a demonstration that was organized by some young people and this means some of the accusations under which the relevant defen- dants were wanted by the Interpol, have nothing to do with terrorism. “But with regard to confession of some of those arrested about participation in the assassination of the Egyptian attorney general and although the relevant sources have not been confirmed, this participation has not been confirmed by reliable sources. Hence, we would like to say that the assassination file in question was closed following the arrest of a group of young men, nine of whom have been sentenced to death and the verdicts were implemented. “However, we hope to see a statement from the Ministry of Interior after conducting necessary investi- gations with the defendants to familiarize ourselves with the volume of their involvement in terrorism – if any – and if they are actually involved, then the Ministry of Interior should reveal the volume and the nature of the same and eventually expose the same before the public and the media as it had dealt with Al-Abdali cell members where the investigations had proved that this cell had several types of weapons and explosive materials. “But to see the members of the Egyptian cell in ques- tion being deported rapidly despite the fact that they face harsh punishment, is not actually commensurate with the humanitarian role of the State of Kuwaiti in the region, as such the State of Kuwait was in a position to deport them to any other country that might be selected by them.” Also: “We thank the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior for announcing the arrest of the members of the Egyptian terrorist cell affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood ter- rorist group,” columnist Nasser Al-Husseini wrote for Al-Shahed daily. “The members of the cell, however, were involved in terrorist activities including the assassination of the former Egyptian attorney-general and Egyptian court had issued verdicts against them. “In spite of the above, we saw how some members of the Muslim Brotherhood Group arrogantly appeared to attempt to cheat the public by agitating the Kuwaiti political powers and criticized the Ministry of Interior alleging the Ministry reserved the right not to extradite terrorists belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood Group saying the Kuwaiti Constitution forbids the extradition of political ‘refugees’. “But it seems that those who have criticized the Ministry don’t have an iota of political shame as they have started cheating the people. “Likewise, we would like to ask these people, if they accept to see their country – the State of Kuwait – being transformed into a shelter for terrorists and the criminals. And aren’t they used to criticizing the Ministry of Interior if an expatriate violates the traffic law? “Then how can they criticize the Ministry of Interior for detaining members of a terrorist cell of expatriates. Not just that, they also criticized the extradition of the members of the cell in question. “Anyway, let us presume that the cell members were Iranians, would they who have criticized the Interior Ministry in dealing with the issue? Or would they immediately thank the Ministry of Interior for its vigi- lance. But because the cell members belong to the Muslim Brotherhood Group, the extradition of these members became a violation of the country’s Constitution! “Nonetheless, we are a strange people indeed, because we are criticizing our country because the nation has extradited expatriate terrorists belonging ‘to your party’. We pray to Almighty Allah to kill the partisan tendency which has blinded ‘us’.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “In the course of a full year work of the two authori- ties during the third parliamentary session, the govern- ment of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak was able to attract the attention of observ- ers and citizens in general, on more than one level,” columnist Dr Barakat Al-Hadiban and Editor-in-Chief of Al-Sabah wrote for the daily. “But perhaps the most important thing for this gov- ernment is that it has left no room for anything to hinder it from fulfilling its mission towards the homeland and the citizens. It has also fulfilled what it promised in its fight against corruption through ‘Al-Nazaha’ (Anti- Corruption Public Authority), the State Audit Bureau and other regulatory bodies. Ministers of this govern- ment and its Prime Minister have been subjected to a large number of parliamentary inquiries, some of which ended with requests for no-confidence on a number of ministers. “This could have been a pretext for the government to justify its failure to perform the duties and tasks entrust- ed to it. However, this has not happened. On the con- trary, we have seen high-level government performance, manifested in more than one position, more than one direction, where no achievement has been stalled, left corrupt or undisciplined. “On the level of achievements, we saw the opening of a number of mega projects, including Jaber Bridge, Jaber Hospital, Medical City in Jahra, as well as the completion of infrastructure projects for a number of new housing cities, which Kuwait is entitled to boast of, because it represents a wonderful foresight. This con- tributes in no small measure to addressing the housing crisis and easing the pressure on Kuwait, the capital and other oldest areas of the country, which no longer accommodate the possibility of further construction and population. We also witnessed remarkable progress in Kuwait’s ranking in global development indicators, transparency and anti-corruption. This was also clearly demonstrated by His Highness the Prime Minister’s acceptance of the steps taken by SAB to protect and safeguard funds. “In parallel, the government’s tremendous efforts to realize His Highness’ vision of Kuwait becoming a global financial center by improving the business envi- ronment and attracting foreign investments continued. This resulted in the promotion of Kuwait Stock Exchange to an emerging market in the world’s largest index, which was carried out by sincere national work- force that we are proud of. It has also moved forward in achieving the vision of ‘Kuwait 2035’ through many of the major projects that are planned to be launched soon, including the Silk Road and the northern economic zone. “All of this has not prevented or hindered the demo- cratic process which has characterized Kuwait through- out its recent history. The government has accepted with full satisfaction all the inquiries directed at it, including those addressed to the Prime Minister, and dealt with them in accordance with the Constitution and bylaws of the National Assembly. “In his speech at the closing session of the third par- liamentary round, the government has provided all the reasons for the National Assembly to fulfill its desired role and exercise its constitutional obligations to the fullest, which established the image of Kuwait civiliza- tion to the whole world. Perhaps, our talk about the ‘cultural image’ of Kuwait is not complete, unless we refer to another ‘cultural’ aspect of great significance in this context, which is the great interest that Mubarak and his government give to its children with special needs. “We recently noted the achievements made by the Public Authority for Handicapped Affairs, with the sup- port and encouragement of the government, including the cooperation protocol signed by the authority with the Credit Bank for the electronic link between the bank and the authority to expedite the completion of transac- tions of people with special needs. In this context, the Ministry of Health will establish a follow-up office for persons with disabilities directly under the undersecre- tary. “We cannot fail here to celebrate the performance of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak and his gov- ernment, namely the decision of the International Olympic Committee to lift the ban on Kuwait sport, which will bring our sport back to the arena of interna- tional competition and renew Kuwait’s reign with continental and international crowns. This is an achievement that, according to Al-Mubarak, came to pass with the support of His Highness the Amir for the government and parliamentary efforts, to ensure clo- sure of this file forever. “In conclusion, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak has always placed in front of his eyes the supreme interest of Kuwait and the interests of its citi- zens, for which everyone works. All constitutional institutions strive to gain the honor of serving the Kuwaiti people while realizing their hopes and ambi- tions.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “For the past 40 years ... since the beginning of its revolution, Iran has been in an almost eight-year war in which millions of victims have perished. At the end of that war, it surrendered as if those years and billions of funds were useless and not to make a simple concession in order to preserve the people and the country from the danger of war and destruction,” columnist Dr Essal Al-Omairi wrote for Al-Rai daily. “After all this, it entered other adventures aimed at interfering in the affairs of others by trying to control and spread its influence in various parts of the Arab world by providing assistance to some militias in Lebanon, including ‘Hezbollah’. Iran then moved to another adventure by intervening in the Iraqi issue where it became the final command and control in all aspects of life in this country with the help of the United States in a deal of common interests and com- plicit. “Iran destroyed this country and divided it into sects, factions and sections. It also practiced the worst forms of racial discrimination as well as support and assistance to Syrian regime during the revolution of the people of Syria on the miserable conditions against that regime. It contributed to suppress the Syrian peo- ple through killing and displacement instead of direct- ing them to sit at the negotiation table with the poor people. “Iran contributed significantly to the division of this country and continued the same way having directed the bulk of its resources toward wars, while perpetrating killings and terrorism in the world. It supported the Houthi militias in Yemen. The history of Iran during those last 40 years was black. It did not stop at that point. It did not hesitate to kill its people for its reaction- ary ideas, and then channel its resources towards manu- facturing of all kinds of weapons. “It has created nuclear plants and enriched the deadly uranium to the human soul in its worst form in a move that it believes can prove a strong foot on the interna- tional scene if it possesses nuclear weapons to terrorize the world, especially neighboring countries, and to complement the role of domination, influence and inva- sion. It has occupied later territories, including the United Arab Emirates’ islands. “More than that, over the past 40 years, many of their well-known leaders have repeatedly stated that Israel is being wiped off the international map. In fact, we have not seen any single step or shot fired at Israel. In return, we have only found support for its arms and ballistic tools here and there. After all, we only see the country spreading destruction and devastation in all places, as it does not wish any good for Islam. We have all been witnesses to its actions over the past forty years as being absolutely evil... God bless us”. — Compiled by Zaki Taleb Al-Duwailah
