No to Kuwaiti consulate in Mashhad
KUWAIT CITY, March 10: Head of Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaie said the committee started discussing a bill on protecting the rights of domestic workers during its meeting Wednesday. Al-Tabtabaie told reporters that the bill was submitted by lawmaker Saleh Ashour and is the first to be presented to protect the rights of this sector, which consists of 650,000 individuals. "We summoned ministers of Interior and Social Affairs and Labor to attend a meeting which we plan to hold within the next two weeks to discuss this bill further and prepare it for voting in the Parliament," he said.
Al-Tabtabaie rejected Parliamentary Panel for Foreign Affairs' proposal on setting up a Kuwaiti consulate in Mashhad of Iran. "I am not against opening a consulate in Mashhad or any other place as long as it is a necessity. However, I'm against the timing," Al-Tabtabaei said, referring to strong verbal attacks from a number of Iranian lawmakers on statements made by Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs in which he said Arabs have the right to refer to the Gulf as Arabian Gulf.
"It is illogical to work on bolstering diplomatic ties with Iran when Kuwaiti diplomatic icon, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah, is being attacked for defending our rights to refer the Gulf as Arabian Gulf," he said. He added that he is not trying to spoil relations with the Islamic republic, but is merely urging the panel to freeze this proposal until Iran "conveys a more positive attitude."
By Dahlia Kholaif
© Arab Times 2010
