'Long live democracy ... Constitution'

KUWAIT CITY, June 14: His Highness the Prime Minister was questioned by opposition MPs in a closed-door session on Tuesday and a non-cooperation motion was submitted against him to be voted on during the parliamentary session of June 23.

"Long live democracy and the Constitution," said Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah as he was leaving the National Assembly after his grilling session.

The prime minister agreed to the interrogation by MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, Mohammed Hayef and Mubarak Al-Walaan and 25 MPs including all 15 ministers voted for a closed door-grilling session.  Speaking in support of the motion were MPs Musallam Al-Barrak and Falah Al-Sawagh, while speaking in support of the PM were MPs Yousef Al-Zalzalah and Hussien Al-Huraiti.

Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah's grilling included questions on allegations that he ruined relations between Kuwait and other GCC countries, jeopardized national security when he failed to deal with the Iranian threats appropriately and bias of the government's foreign policy towards the Iranian regime.

After the grilling, ten MPs submitted the non-cooperation motion against the PM - Faisal Al-Muslim, Mohammed Al-Mutair, Daifallah Buramiyah, Ali Al-Deqbasi, Salem Al-Namlan, Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, Khaled Tahous, Jamaan Al-Harbash, Abdulrahman Al-Anjari, Naji Al-Abdulhadi. For the motion to pass, the majority of MPs, excluding ministers, have to vote their approval.

MP Saifi Al-Saifi was the first lawmaker to announce that he will support the non-cooperation motion against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah as he was "not convinced" with the replies of the PM. However, Al-Tabtabaei said that 18 MPs have declared their support for the non-cooperation motion and expected the number to increase.

The questioners focused on the Iranian case and the GCC Peninsula Shield agreement with the Kingdom of Bahrain and accused the PM of harming relations with the GCC and being lenient on Iran by maintaining diplomatic relations and visiting the Shiite country a number of times after the discovery of the its spy network in Kuwait. They, according to parliamentary sources, gave their evidence in pictures and documents that prove Iranian (Shiite) infiltration of Kuwait and Bahrain.

MP Yousef Al-Zalzalah, however, said that that Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah was "very convincing" in his defense and added that the grilling request was unconstitutional but the prime minister agreed to it to protect national unity and as a sign of respect to the National Assembly. The prime minister reportedly said that he should not be questioned on the work of a former government. Furthermore, MP Hussein Al-Huraiti and a number of other Shiite MP said that the interrogators defenses were not convincing. They assured that the prime minister will survive the non-cooperation motion against him.

Kuwaiti Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ali Al-Rashed said Sheikh Nasser answered each point of the interpellation "very clearly and frankly." "Most of the MPs appreciated the clear-cut answers of HH the Prime Minister because he didn't let any word of the interpellation go without an unequivocal answer," the minister told reporters after the closed-door parliamentary session for the grilling.

In response to a question by an MP on the number of his visits to Iran, HH Sheikh Nasser challenged the grillers to prove that the number he stated is wrong; no MP was able to respond, the minister revealed.
Commenting on the controversy over the flag shown at the session, Al-Rashed said one of the MPs swore to God that he would tender his resignation if it turned to be the flag of Bahrain.

"The flag turned to be the flag of Bahrain before the country became a kingdom. Thereby, we're waiting for the MP in question to honor his word," Al-Rashed said, but did not mention name of the lawmaker.
Asked why the government insisted that the parliamentary session be private, the minister said HH the Prime Minister was keen that the debate should not infringe on the friendly ties between Kuwait and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Concerning HH the Prime Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia, he said HH Sheikh Nasser was warmly received by "the Saudi brothers" but it was not a formal reception because the visit was not formal.
"He was there to offer condolences; this is normal according to diplomatic protocol," the minister added.
Al-Rashed refuted speculations that such interpellations could harm the national unity of Kuwait, saying that the government adopts a zero-tolerance policy in handling any bid of such nature.

"Though the government believes that the interpellation was unconstitutional, HH the Prime Minister preferred to address the MPs from the pulpit out of keenness to remove any misunderstanding or misinformation regarding serious issues such as the national unity and the relationship with the GCC states," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Popular Action Bloc (PAB) spokesman, Musallam Al-Barrak reiterated that a "unique" interpellation will be submitted against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah in the next few days, relating to public funds and state assets and supported by Audit Bureau reports and court cases. He criticized the government for requesting a closed-door session and said that the PM should announce the information he has that proves his good conduct with foreign relations to ease the tension among the people.

Al-Barrak questioned the governments intentions for postponing a grilling for one year and agreeing to face another in the meantime. He further accused the government of interfering in the affairs of the legislative authority.

Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah has had eight grilling requests filed against him since he was appointed to the post in 2006. Two requests were debated in closed-door sessions and resulted in the filing of non-cooperation motions. The PM survived the motions, one of which was in January of this year.

Earlier during Tuesday's session, the Environmental and Nuclear Energy Committee was assigned to investigate water pollution in the country during the summer and to complete its study before the next legislative round.

Minister of Electricity and Water, Salem Al-Uthayna, said during the session that recent analyses by the showed by the Ministry of Health and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) have proved that the drinking water in Kuwait is safe and clean. Furthermore, the Ministry of Health is using the help of a World Health Organization (WHO) expert with the analysis of the drinking water, he said.

Moreover, the Interior and Defense Committee was tasked with discussing with the Interior Minister, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, the case pertaining to a Syrian businessman, Bashar Kaywan, who had allegedly threatened a journalist of Al-Balad news, Yousef Al-Nassar, after the later accused the former of using the website for Syrian intelligence. Al-Nassar had filed a case claiming that the Al-Balad news website is partly owned by the Syrian businessman who is affiliated with the Syrian regime.

© Arab Times 2011