| 23 Dec 2009 |
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Minister seeks Kuwait House approval to monitor blogs
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Wednesday, Dec 23, 2009
Gulf News
Manama Kuwait's information minister has urged the parliament to endorse a proposal to monitor blogs, citing social and stability threats.
"Electronic blogs post matters that are now threatening national cohesion and that are much more dangerous than what is being published in newspapers and broadcast on satellite channels. We are therefore working on a draft law to monitor blogs and we urge the parliament to approve it," Shaikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah told Kuwait's MPs yesterday, Alaan news portal reported.
The minister's plea came as the country's social fabric has come under heavy strain following the broadcasting by Al Sour on Saturday of a controversial programme that claimed that tribesmen were not genuine Kuwaitis and that many of them broke the law by holding dual citizenship.
Bedouins make up half of the native population and have 25 MPs in the 50-member parliament.
The programme charged that the only "true and genuine" Kuwaitis were the descendents of those who lived inside the walls surrounding Kuwait City in the 19th century and that the others were not Kuwaitis.
Thousands of Bedouins reacted angrily and staged a rally during which several lawmakers and activists called upon the government to take stringent action against Al Sour and Scoop TV stations for broadcasting the programme and Mohammad Al Juwaihel, the owner of Al Sour.
Al Juwaihel, a former candidate for the Kuwaiti parliament known for his anti-Bedouins tirades, has allegedly fled Kuwait. Kuwaiti security has issued a warrant for his arrest.
Local daily Annahar, quoting unnamed sources, reported that the police have arrested a 40-year-old Kuwait who had threatened to kill Al Juwaihel during a phone conversation. The man denied the charge and said that his call was meant to advise the owner of Al Sour TV,
Slander
A Kuwaiti lawmaker has filed a lawsuit against Al Juwaihel and two channels for allegedly slandering tribesmen and undermining national unity and social cohesion.
MP Musallam Al Barrak said that he was suing Mohammad Al Juwaihel, Al Sour and Scoop for broadcasting a programme to erode national cohesion and sow division in the country.
However, Al Barrak's charge that the interior and information ministers had failed to assume their duties in dealing with the two channels was rejected by the information undersecretary Shaikh Faisal Al Malek was rejected as being baseless on the grounds that both stations used a broadcaster not located in Kuwait.
Several NGOs issued statements condemning the allegations broadcast by the channels as "racially prejudiced" and said that the government needed to act promptly and decisively to ensure that the ominous sectarian and racist fissure would not deepen.
State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al Roudhan said following the cabinet session on Sunday that the government was taking legal action against all those who incite divisions in the society and that there would be a zero-tolerance policy towards anyone seeking to undermine social peace and national cohesion.
A committee of delegates from the interior, information and communication ministries has been formed to look into the issue and to put an end to the chaos prevailing in the field of satellite channels in Kuwait.
Panelists, speakers, talk show guests and the channels broadcasting their statements will be held responsible for any allegation that could undermine national unity, under new regulations to be issued by the information ministry to govern the broadcasting sector, media sources said.
By Habib Toumi
© Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
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