Kuwait Times, Sunday, Sep 19, 2021 | Safar 12, 1443
Statement by exiled former MPs rocks opposition camp
Kuwait:
A surprising statement
issued by former opposition MPs and activists who have been living in self-exile
in Turkey yesterday openly criticized certain measures taken by the opposition
lawmakers and welcomed calls for a national dialogue under the auspices of His
Highness the Amir. The statement is likely to disrupt the opposition camp which
has so far been united and maintaining strong and close ties with the
self-exiled former MPs.
The statement, signed by five former MPs, including Mussallam Al-Barrak, and
four activists particularly criticized the opposition lawmakers for not
attending a crucial assembly session held to allow the then new government to
take the oath in the assembly.
The opposition lawmakers had boycotted the session in a bid to prevent it from
going ahead but the government managed a bare majority and held the session.
Following the taking oath ceremony, the assembly rejected a draft law calling
for a general pardon on jailed politicians. Had the opposition been in
attendance, the bill would have passed.
The statement also criticized the opposition lawmakers for disrupting sessions
while protesting against a decision to protect His Highness the Prime Minister
from being questioned. It said their tactic effectively protected other
ministers against grillings.
The statement said that they have learned that members of the opposition bloc in
the assembly have proposed to hold a national dialogue between the government
and the assembly under the auspices of His Highness the Amir. They welcomed the
proposal but insisted that any dialogue must be preceded with an understanding
on the pardon in order to achieve a wider national reconciliation.
The former MPs and activists left Kuwait for Turkey more than three years ago to
escape jail terms issued by the court of cassation which convicted them of
storming the National Assembly building following a protest in 2011. Many
attempts have been made to secure the return of the former lawmakers but all
have reached a deadlock with assembly speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem openly telling
them to seek a pardon from His Highness the Amir as the only way.
A leading former MP Faisal Al-Muslim, who is also in Turkey, was the only one
who did not sign the statement, saying on Twitter that he was contacted late and
that he did not want to criticize opposition lawmakers. So far, there has been
no comment on the statement from any opposition MP. Hours before that,
opposition MPs issued a statement in which they reiterated their rejection to
participate in the government, insisting that the government had violated the
constitution.
Ghanem said last week that new initiatives have been made to break the political
deadlock in the country without elaborating. He expressed the hope that a
breakthrough is expected before the start of the next assembly term in late
October. Kuwait has been rocked with a non-stop political crisis since the
election of the new assembly last year.