Traffic Chief Defends Crackdown on Expats
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SUBSCRIPTION SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2013 RAJAB 16, 1434 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Kuwait’s Africa marks 16 children Santos accept development progress and killed in Barca, Madrid role part of 50 years Pak school bids for WEF: Shamali3 of ‘unity’7 bus15 fire Neymar20 Traffic chief defends Max 42º Min 31º crackdown on expats High Tide 00:59 & 11:44 MoI: Deportees had record of repeated serious violations Low Tide 06:22 & 19:20 40 PAGES NO: 15820 150 FILS KUWAIT: Kuwait has deported a number of foreigners conspiracy theories in the past few weeks for traffic violations, but only in Bayern crowned champs cases in which the violator was caught red-handed while committing a serious violation, and after verifica- Give, give, give tion revealed a record for repeated lawbreaking behav- ior on the road, a senior Ministry of Interior official said in a statement yesterday. Kuwait has recently been the subject of criticism both internally and from outside following reports indi- cating that more than 1,200 people were deported dur- By Badrya Darwish ing traffic crackdowns in the past month. “First of all, the Ministry of Interior would like to reiterate respect and appreciation to all the honorable residents in our coun- try, and we would also like to assert our full commit- ment to the principles of human rights whether in [email protected] regards to citizens or expatriates,” said Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Maj Gen Abdulfattah Al-Ali. He added that while have heard about financial help and assistance the ministry appreciates for unemployed women around the world. the role of human rights IMommies with children and divorced or single organizations and mothers get social assistance around the world. The activists with regards to money in their case is for a specified time and is not bringing up the subject in much. the press and social net- The most recent decision in Kuwait is to give works, claims of deport- unemployed women older than 55 who do not ing expatriates for com- have a source of income a monthly allowance of KD mon traffic violations as 559. The announcement came from the Ministry of mentioned in some criti- Social Affairs and Labour this week. Already 7,000 cisms are inaccurate. “Not applicants have submitted their requests. It would only are such claims unre- be interesting to know from which constituencies alistic, but are refuted by the majority of these 7,000 applicants come from. field operations seeking to restore discipline on Let’s face it. Most women in Kuwait are working. Maj Gen Abdulfattah Al-Ali By the time they reach 55, they have already retired public roads,” Ali said. He and receive pensions. Many have their own busi- explained that traffic police officers during patrol opera- nesses or at least have commercial licenses in their tions around the country have caught violators red- names. Either they work with their licenses or rent handed and issued tickets on the spot, which helped to improve the process of detecting violations which are them out to others. In either way they are making also detected by advanced cameras recently installed. money. According to the senior official, the people who were Actually this decision has many pros and cons. As deported have only been drivers that were caught by I see it, the minuses are more than the pluses. For traffic police and patrol officers and received tickets one, this is a burden for the government. It is quite a directly. Ali insisted that no driver caught by cameras handsome amount. It is nearly the size of a salary of has been deported. “As we look to restore order in the a fresh Kuwaiti graduate in any bank or private streets, we will not hesitate to enforce the law and exer- organization. Why the sudden sympathy from the cise procedures authorized by the law to deport an Minister of Social Affairs towards luring women with expatriate violator with repeated violations committed more money to sit at home? It makes you doubt the on purpose, thus posing a serious threat to the safety of reasons behind it. others,” he said. The traffic records of all deported peo- Nowadays, we in Kuwait are used to having deci- ple show repeated incidents of overspeeding and reck- sions of MPs or ministers targeted to get some inter- less driving which show a level of indifference to the est in return. They gain popularity, maybe even law that according to Ali ‘needs to be addressed’. votes in elections etc. How come that bill was not “Unfortunate accidents in which young people, chil- studied thoroughly? It is a miracle how this bill dren, mothers, fathers and families fall victim adds to passed so fast and was approved. Nothing goes our responsibility to exert all efforts to maintain control through lawmakers that fast. LONDON: Bayern's Philipp Lahm holds up the trophy after winning the Champions League Final football over the streets,” he asserted. match against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium yesterday. —AP (See Page 20) Such kind of a decision, for some women Continued on Page 15 activists, is an “insult”. They say that this would dis- courage women from staying in the workforce and have them rushing to relax at home. Nasrallah vows ‘victory’ in Syria We are becoming a society that is super depend- ent on the government. All what we hear is parlia- mentarians asking for more social benefits for kids, cutting the debts, higher salaries for retirees. Now State slaps 2-child limit more money for women sitting at home? All we hear from the government is “give, give, give” to the on Muslims in Myanmar people, but there is no “give, give, give” back to our country. YANGON: Authorities in Myanmar’s such a restriction on a religious group, western Rakhine state have imposed a and is likely to fuel further criticism that We are becoming a sluggish independent nation. two-child limit for Muslim Rohingya Muslims are being discriminated families, a policy that does not apply to against in the Buddhist-majority coun- Buddhists in the area and comes amid try. accusations of ethnic cleansing in the China has a one-child policy, but it is aftermath of sectarian violence. Local not based on religion and exceptions officials said yesterday that the new apply to minority ethnic groups. India measure would be applied to two briefly practiced forced sterilization of Rakhine townships that border men in a bid to control the population Bangladesh and have the highest in the mid-1970s when civil liberties Muslim populations in the state. The were suspended during a period of townships, Buthidaung and Maundaw, emergency rule, but a nationwide out- are about 95 percent Muslim. The cry quickly shut down the program. unusual order makes Myanmar perhaps Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing MASHGHARA, Lebanon: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers a broadcast the only country in the world to impose Continued on Page 15 speech during a rally in this village in the Bekaa Valley yesterday. — AP BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Hassan bear the responsibilities and the sacri- Nasrallah yesterday vowed “victory” in fices,” he said in a videolink of a speech British spies ‘tried Syria, where militants of his powerful delivered live on a huge screen. “This Lebanese Shiite movement are fighting battle is ours... and I promise you victory,” alongside regular troops against rebels he said. “Syria is the rear guard of the to recruit’ attacker trying to topple the regime. “I say to all resistance (Hezbollah’s fight with Israel), the honourable people, to the muja- its backbone, and the resistance cannot LONDON: Britain’s intelligence agencies tensions following the murder of 25- hedeen, to the heroes: I have always stay with its arms folded when its rear came under fresh scrutiny yesterday fol- year-old Lee Rigby outside a barracks in promised you a victory and now I pledge guard is exposed. “We are idiots if we do lowing claims that MI5 had tried to Woolwich, southeast London, on to you a new one” in Syria, he said at a not act,” said Nasrallah who avoids recruit one of two Islamists accused of Wednesday afternoon by two men ceremony marking the 13th anniversary appearing in public for security reasons. butchering a soldier in London. Abu spouting Islamist rants. of Israel’s military withdrawal from The intervention of hundreds of fight- Nusaybah, who says he is a childhood An inter-faith group reported a large Lebanon. ers of Hezbollah has given the regime Emirati sailors sail in their traditional dhows from friend of murder suspect Michael spike in anti-Muslim incidents, while up Nasrallah said Hezbollah would the upper hand in Qusair, a strategic cen- the island of Sir Bu Nair off the coast of Sharjah yes- Adebolajo, was arrested by counter-ter- to 2,000 members of the far-right English always stand by its allies in the Syrian tral town in Syria across the border with terday at the start of the 23rd annual dhow race rorism police shortly after making the Defence League (EDL) staged a protest in regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, Lebanon, that had been in rebel hands. known as the Gaffal, which has a total of 10 million claims on BBC television on Friday night. the northeastern city of Newcastle. stressing that its own interests were at Syrian forces launched an assault on dirhams ($272,000) in prizes. — AFP His comments come amid community Continued on Page 15 stake. “We will continue along the road... Continued on Page 15 SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2013 LOCAL 286 more arrested in Mubarakiya raid Crackdown in Wafra chalets KUWAIT: The Capital governorate Five of them were arrested on cooperate and report any violation General Ayadh Al-Otaibi and Wafra Amash Al-Mutairi also joined in.