Unlike the past two interpellations by minority MPs, Al-Juwaihel’s grilling on Tuesday drew a substantial audience and the National Assembly was packed with curious Kuwaiti citizens and Gulf nationals. The audience applauded several times to comments made during the debate, which was full of mockery, accusations and inappropriate language thrown back and forth between minority and majority MPs.
The grilling, nevertheless, was temporarily disrupted before it began when Al-Juwaihel put up a sign on his podium which read: “Kuwait is for Kuwaitis only”. Majority MPs objected and yelled at the interpellator to remove the sign but were calmly ignored. Minority MPs stated they believe there is no reason why majority MPs should be upset by the sign. Present ministers of state calmly watched the spectacle.
The session was adjourned twice for disorderly conduct by lawmakers and the audience. Deputy Speaker MP Khaled Al-Sultan adjourned the session the first time for 15 minutes due to disputes on Al-Juwaihel’s sign. While MPs were leaving Abdullah Al-Salem Hall, a physical scuffle almost occurred between Al-Juwaihel and MP Khaled Al-Shukhayer, who verbally attacked Al-Juwaihel and attempted to forcibly remove the sign.
Security guards and minority MPs surrounded Al-Juwaihel and prevented the scuffle. During the break, MPs Ali-Al-Rashid, Hussein Al-Qallaf and Abdulhamid Dashti, among other minority MPs, were seen with Al-Juwaihel seemingly pleading with him to give up his stance.
Parliament Speaker MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun resumed the session and threatened to remove Al-Juwaihel from the hall if he kept the sign, but he still refused to comply; “Come and remove it yourself,” Al-Juwaihel told the speaker. HH the Prime Minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah then went to the controversial MP and persuaded him to remove the sign.
Al-Juwaihel then began the debate by presenting US and Kuwaiti passport photocopies belonging to MP Khaled Al-Sultan’s son, asking the Interior Minister on the actions taken in that regard. Al-Juwaihel, however, failed to present any other documents pertaining to the subject, alleging there are lawmakers with dual-nationality and loyalties. He also failed to discuss the other proponents of his grilling, on alleged arms proliferation in Kuwait and corruption in the General Traffic Department (GTD).
Al-Juwaihel also declared that he would not use the entire one and half hour granted for him to present his arguments. But he retracted and spoke for half an hour when Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah said he will also give his replies in writing to the Parliament Office instead.
Under Kuwait’s citizenship law, citizens are not allowed to have other nationalities. Al-Juwaihel claimed that there are individuals with Saudi, Iranian and Iraqi nationalities who were unjustifiably and undeservingly given Kuwaiti citizenship in violation of the law. “There are Iraqi nationals who worked under Saddam’s regime that were granted citizenship,” he said.
Al-Juwaihel stated that Kuwait began with about 113, 622 Kuwaitis and now the number has increased to almost two million unexplainably. “The citizenship of 63 dual-nationals was also revoked by the former Interior Minister and was restored by the current Interior Minister,” he added.
On another note, Al-Juwaihel said the ministry violated public funds with a lease for the former Al-Salam police station that has expired but is still listed on the 2012-2013 budget.
Al-Juwaihel stressed his grilling did not aim for a no-confidence motion against Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah but to shed light on this “serious and sensitive matter that is threatening the country’s stability.”
On his part, the Interior Minister said he possessed the right to re-grant Kuwaiti citizenship to the 63 individuals stripped of it, as per article 11 of the citizenship law. He further explained that financial allocations for the police station were maintained to restore it to a residential building so that it can be returned to its original owners and it was returned in 2011.
Following the session, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud said the ministry is exerting all efforts to resolve cases of dual-nationality “quietly”. He said the withdrawal of citizenship is not easy and the procedures take time.
Meanwhile, MPs Ali Al-Rashid and Faisal Al-Duwaisan spoke in favor of the grilling. They stressed that the interpellation is crucial as it pertains to the issue of citizenship. They argued the citizenship law should be changed if dual-nationality is allowed. “If dual-nationality is allowed then I should try and get the US nationality myself,” said Al-Duwaisan.
On the opposite side, MPs Ali Al-Deqbasi and Falah Al-Sawwagh spoke against the grilling. They said the interpellator must not be trusted as he has a history of misconduct and misdemeanors. Al-Deqbasi defended his citizenship and that of his brother after they came into question by Al-Juwaihel.
Prior to the grilling debate, the Assembly approved the resignation of MP Ali Al-Rashid from the Legal and Legislative Committee and appointed MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji in his stead. MP Mohammed Al-Kandari was replaced by MP Saad Al-Khanfour in the Petitions and Complaints Committee. The Assembly also lifted the immunity of MP Mohammed Al-Saqr on press misdemeanor charges.
The session resumes on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali says he is ready to take the grilling podium to answer ‘queries’ in the two interpellations which have been submitted against him by the lawmakers.
In a press statement, Al-Shamali stressed he would stand on the podium “and face the two interpellations, I will not offer my resignation, I will refute the points and answer all queries in full transparency and clarity.” He added, “I will not hide anything because in our work there is nothing we feel shy of or want to hide.”
He added, “There is no bargaining on this issue because we are fully committed to protecting public funds. Our commitment is bigger than those who talk about this issue.”
Earlier on Monday, MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Khaled Al-Tahous and Abdul Rahman Al-Anjari had filed an interpellation request against the minister. The interpellation mainly consists of eight points concerning financial and administrative misappropriation in the ministry and state institutions which fall under his jurisdiction.
However, it appears MP Obaid Al-Wasmi has pulled the rug from under their feet and filed a three-pronged grilling request before them — namely flaws in the banking loan policies of the Central Bank of Kuwait, the use of national wealth to increase support for petrol derivatives which gives rise to suspicions that illegal profits made from state properties, in addition to the financial violations and huge losses due to failure to collect dues.
In a related issue, MP Ali Al-Omair has affirmed his position on the grilling request against the
Al-Shamali saying it depends on the ability of the minister to defend himself.
Al-Omair added if the interpellator is able to prove the minister encourages corruption “then I will not hesitate to be on the side of the truth. However, if the latter is able to convince the Parliament that the accusations are baseless, we will stand by him without hesitation.”
He pointed out some lawmakers want to declare the minister guilty even before he stood on the podium which is totally unacceptable especially that God’s law teaches us that we must hear from both parties to the conflict before issuing a judgment.
In another development, MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei has called on the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa to rescue the Syrians by offering them financial support and weapons to face the brutality of the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad because all means and sanctions have failed to stop daily massacres.
On his Twitter account Al-Tabtabaei said “I am appealing to the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa
— may God protect him — to hasten to the rescue of the Syrian people with money and weapons because we can no longer afford to see the massacres of the Assad regime.”
