In statements posted on his Twitter account, Saadoun said that the GCC states are left with no choice but to develop the council into an advanced form of a union in order to confront challenges threatening the existence of its member states.
The Gulf union, a proposal floated by Saudi Arabia a few months ago, is inevitable amid fast-paced regional and international changes, Saadoun said. “But it is also inevitable that such a development in relations is achieved only among similar regimes that are open to their peoples, especially in respecting human rights and public freedoms,” he said. Public freedoms should include “freedom of expression and the right to popular participation in decision making which we hope will happen soon in all the GCC states so that the union can be realized under its umbrella,” Saadoun said.
The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with only the first two countries having an elected parliament. The rest have appointed or partially-elected Shura councils. Saadoun also lashed out at the GCC security pact which Kuwait has refused to sign because some of its provisions violate articles of the Kuwaiti Constitution, especially extradition of citizens which is banned by the constitution. He said that it was reported that the interior ministers of the GCC states have approved the security pact in principle, adding that Kuwait must not accept the pact. The Speaker added that the pact requires member states to extradite suspects on issues that are not punishable by law by a particular country, and is punishable under the other country’s law.
In another development, State Minister for Housing and Chairman of the state-owned Savings and Credit Bank Shuaib Al-Muwaizri strongly defended his decision to sack the director general of the bank Salah Al-Mudaf yesterday. Muwaizri said his removal was taken following serious violations committed by Mudhaf. The minister’s decision was criticized by MPs Mohammad Al-Sager and Ahmad Lari who said that the decision was politically-motivated and based on personal reasons, adding that it violated the regulations in Kuwait because Mudaf was appointed by an Amiri decree and can be removed only by a similar decree. Muwaizri, however, insisted that he only apply the law and if the two MPs believe that they were right, they should “grill me in the National Assembly to learn the true picture”.
Opposition MP Saifi Al-Saifi meanwhile said yesterday that he agreed with MP Riyadh Al-Adasani on filing a joint request to interpellate Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Ahmad Al-Rujaib, insisting that Rujaib should not have been included in the Cabinet. Saifi said that they would announce the date on which the grilling motion will be submitted after the debate of the two motions filed against Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali (expected to be debated next Tuesday) concludes.
