Kuwait charities accused of funding terrorists
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 12: "Some individuals who are not linked with any charitable society collected donations during the Holy Month of Ramadan and sent them to some internally unstable countries which Kuwait has banned from being sent donations," Al-Seyassah daily quoted Director of Charitable Societies Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Nasser Al-Ammar as saying.
He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned all charitable institutions from sending money to such countries, but some individuals have been secretly doing so. Al-Ammar made the statement while seeing off Minister Mohammad Al-Afasi at the airport on Saturday.
Indicating that violators exploit the kindness of Kuwaitis to commit such malpractices, he said, "the ministry alone cannot control these malpractices as donors should cooperate with the ministry in implementing the law. We monitored some unauthorized people who started collecting donations and notified the Interior Ministry which took necessary legal procedures against them," he said.
According to Al-Ammar, some authorities and influential people gave the violators recommendations to carry out such activities.
He, however, pointed out that the ministry, as per HH the Amir's wish, allowed a number of non-charitable authorities to collect donations to help famine victims in Somalia.
Al-Ammar further added that the department will activate a number of decisions related to charitable activities and will build a sanitarium to rehabilitate repentant people. He called on the public to participate in such national projects.
Meanwhile, a 2009 cable sent by US State Department and posted by the whistleblower WikiLeaks showed the US has for many years believed that Kuwaiti charitable activities ultimately focus on funding terrorist organizations, which the US is fighting, reports Al-Kuwaitiya daily.
The cable dated Dec 30, 2009 that concentrated on funding of terrorism was sent to several US embassies in the Middle East, including Kuwait. The alleged document claimed the Kuwaiti government was less enthusiastic on acting against people living and funding terrorism in the country, as well as agents ready to carry out attacks outside the country, although the government was ready to take measures when terrorists targeted Kuwait.
The cable alleged that Kuwait's al-Qaeda base and other groups use the country as a source of funding or the main transit point. The document said Kuwaiti laws ban attacks on Arab neighbors, which is the basis for pursuing agents dealing with al-Qaeda. The cable alleged the Islamic Revival Society is a point of conflict between Kuwait and the US, while the society was classified as an organization associated with al-Qaeda.
In a related development , Al-Rai daily has quoted a report published recently by the Wall Street Journal that a US official has derided Kuwait for its lenient attitude in dealing with financing terrorism.
Speaking at a seminar on controlling financing terrorism recently, US Treasury Department's Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said Kuwait and Qatar has been lax in monitoring the activities of groups that collect donations for terrorist activities. He pointed out both nations are undoubtedly strong allies of the US but Kuwait has yet to criminalize the act of financing terrorism, while Qatar, although it has enacted a law in this regard, has delayed the implementation of the law.
© Arab Times 2011
