KUWAIT: A political group accuses the opposition of taking illegal benefits with the help of their positions at the 2012 parliament, claiming that they "played suspicious political roles to make deals after gaining a majority in the parliament". "Recent orders in which candidates directly connected with some Majority Bloc members occupying leading posts in the government is clear evidence that the opposition has been part of political deals with the Cabinet", reads a statement released by the 11/11 Forces group.
The group's Secretary General, Nasser Al-Shulaimi, further held the Cabinet and the opposition responsible for the "deteriorating situation and ongoing political crisis" in Kuwait. "The current conflict is viewed as taking place between two parties with conflicting interests, whereas in reality these parties are two sides of the same coin whose interests happened to clash at the present time", the statement quoted Al-Shulaimi as saying. He added that the government wants an electoral system "shaped according to their demands", while the "fake opposition seeks a system by which they can regain a majority in the parliament".
The 11/11 Forces group has been offering lawmakers ideas to achieve political reform since 2008, and until the 2012 parliament was annulled last June by a Constitutional Court ruling. "The fact that the opposition ignored these offers proves their unwillingness to go ahead with achieving political reform that is considered the main gateway towards achieving reform in all other fields", Al-Shulaimi said.
Meanwhile, Al-Shulaimi described the level of speech made by the opposition during last week's demonstration as "a weak and laughable demonstration of powers that can't even be categorized as a political speech", adding that this "reflects a miserable political reality led by a group lacking proper vision and ideology to effect change".
Tehran's "aligned" stance
A Kuwaiti lawmaker criticized the position that Iran took in support of the Syrian regime while hosting the Non-Aligned Summit recently, saying, Tehran "violated the basic principle of the Non-Aligned Movement of supporting suppressed nations".
"Iran's violation of the movement's principles and their support to [Syrian President] Bashar Al-Assad's regime, including armed support, makes countries consider support for the unarmed Syrian people against the regime's injustice", MP Khalid Al-Adwah said in a statement yesterday.
Kuwaitis rescued off Saudi shore
Three Kuwaitis were among six people rescued by Saudi Arabian officials when their fishing boat malfunctioned miles from the kingdom's eastern shores. The three Kuwaitis and three Saudi friends were floating for hours in the middle of the sea until a unit from the Eastern Province Border Security Department of Saudi Arabia managed to locate and rescue them. No injuries were reported during the incident.
Housing projects
The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) will be provided with new areas to build houses, as part of an agreement reached recently with the Kuwait Municipality. The PAHW reportedly plans to use the area, located west of Abdullah Al-Mubarak, which is to the west of Saad Al-Abdullah and north of Al-Subbiya, to build 52 thousand housing units for citizens.
© Kuwait Times 2012
