SUBSCRIPTION THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013 RAJAB 13, 1434 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Militants free Afghan More English Spurs blow 7 Egyptians interpreters at French late lead, kidnapped win right to universities? beat Grizzlies in Sinai8 new life9 in UK Debate14 begins 93-8920 in OT Speaker insists no political Max 41º Min 27º crisis; tweeters get respite High Tide 09:50 & 23:07 MP claims drinking water, bottled water contaminated Low Tide 03:46 & 16:53 40 PAGES NO: 15817 150 FILS By B Izzak and A Saleh conspiracy theories KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Ali Al-Rashed said yesterday that there is no “political crisis” in the country Where are the MPs? and only “the use of constitutional tools” in the form of filing to grill ministers. “Things are moving in the right direction and there is no political crisis in the country. It is simply the use of constitutional tools ... and I don’t see any problem in using them because they are a monitor- ing instrument,” Rashed told reporters. Rashed said the By Badrya Darwish available information indicates that the government will attend the forthcoming Assembly session on May 28 when the requests to grill the oil and interior minis- ters are expected to be discussed. He said he has official assurances from the prime [email protected] minister that the government will attend the session on May 28 and which has been confirmed by HH the Amir. The government boycotted the Assembly sessions on Continued on Page 15 ot long ago one member of parliament ques- tioned Kuwait’s minister of interior about pur- Nchases of arms from Israel. The minister denied the accusation. The story was revisited by a rights abuses local Arabic daily yesterday. The headline says: “Kuwait is buying military equipment from Israel.” rife in Gulf We expected a spokesman from the Ministry of Interior to come out and deny the news. By the end KUWAIT: Human rights abuses remained wide- of the day, however, there was no denial from any spread last year in the Gulf states, including discrimi- official. The news said that the arms were purchased nation against dissidents, migrant labourers, women through the United States Department of Defence’s and religious minorities, Amnesty International said logistics department which were then sold to Kuwait KUWAIT: Plainclothes policemen arrest illegal residents during a surprise raid in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh yester- day. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh in a report yesterday. In particular, authorities for a contract worth $31 million. The contract ends in severely restricted freedom of speech, association 2015, the story said. and assembly and clamped down on the dissent and Why military deals are increasingly an under- unrest that swept several countries during the so- ground affair? Whether the purchase is from Israel or Jleeb raid nets 555 called Arab Spring, the London-based group said. from the moon, I think these deals should pass Arbitrary arrests of critics and opposition members through a vote in parliament because they, accord- were commonplace in almost all the Gulf states and ing to my simple knowledge of rules and regula- KUWAIT: A flash inspection cam- IDs, deserting domestic employ- Sheikh Ahmed Al-Humoud to arrest accompanied with long periods of detention with- tions, concern national security. They are a red line. paign was launched yesterday in ment and dependant visa holders illegal residents and wanted people. out trial, it said. Why the silence then? Is the parliament existing Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, resulting in the working in various places. The cam- The ministry’s security media In Saudi Arabia, “government critics and political only to grill ministers over trivial matters? If the news arrest of 480 male and 75 female paign is part of a massive drive car- department vowed more cam- activists were detained without trial or sentenced is published in the local mainstream press and if it is residents for various violations ried out by the Ministry of Interior paigns would follow and sudden after grossly unfair trials,” Amnesty said. true, then I blame parliament for the negligence over including working for others, on the instructions of First Deputy inspections would continue in vari- Continued on Page 15 this. This means MPs are not doing their job properly. expired residency visas, not carrying Prime Minister and Interior Minister ous areas. The honourable gentlemen are hyper-busy with the Dow deal and the fine of $2.2 billion paid by Kuwait. But actually the whole thing was caused by parliament when they rejected the Dow deal and Man killed in London ‘terror’ attack forced Sheikh Nasser to cancel it. This shows how short-sighted they are. It was better off to continue LONDON: A man believed to be a serv- pected attackers. have had to witness this today, but in our ference that the victim was a soldier, but with the deal rather than pay a penalty of over $2 bil- ing British soldier was brutally murdered One broadcaster showed footage of land our women have to see the same. You Cameron gave no confirmation. lion. Now they started blaming each other in parlia- yesterday near a London barracks in one of the men at the scene carrying a people will never be safe. Remove your A local member of parliament said he ment. what Prime Minister David Cameron said blood-covered knife and meat cleaver government, they don’t care about you.” believed the dead man was a soldier. I don’t know why in Kuwait we wake up to prob- appeared to be a terrorist attack. Media saying to the camera: “We swear by The government’s emergency Cameron said: “We’ve had this sort of lems after they occur and we never learn from our reports said the dead man was a British almighty Allah we will never stop fight- response committee was immediately attack before in our country and we nev- previous mistakes, as if the things in this country soldier who was hacked to death by the ing you.” convened. The attack took place in broad er buckle in the face of them.” Home happen without any future plans. Do you know why assailants. Some reports suggested his The black man, dressed in a grey hood- daylight around 200 m from the Royal Secretary Theresa May chaired a meeting we don’t learn? Because we are arrogant and we attackers tried to behead him while ed jacket and black woolly hat, made a Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast of COBRA, the government’s emergency think we know more than anybody else. We think we shouting “God is greatest” in Arabic. number of political statements to London. Cameron, who was to return civil contingencies committee. “It has are a superior nation and we don’t need to learn any- Cameron called the attack “appalling” bystanders. “We must fight them as they early from talks with French President been confirmed to me that a man has more. Ignorance steps in when someone believes he and said: “There are strong indications fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a Francois Hollande in Paris to deal with been brutally murdered this afternoon in knows everything. Where are the MPs now? You can’t that it is a terrorist incident.” Armed tooth,” he says in a London accent in the the aftermath, called the attack “truly southeast London,” she said. find them when you need them. police shot and wounded the two sus- video. He adds: “I apologise that women shocking”. Hollande said at a press con- Continued on Page 15 in the MP splurges news $21m on luxe Bahrain claims Iran drone found in sea London digs DUBAI: Bahrain yesterday said it has found an LONDON: A Kuwaiti MP has bought a luxurious Iranian drone in the kingdom’s north near Saudi property in the centre of London for the price tag of Arabia and called for increased cooperation $21 million. The news about the purchase circulated between regional security services to face “threats” yesterday across social networks. The name of the from Tehran. The unmanned aircraft “was found in MP was not disclosed. the sea in north Bahrain, mainly between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, two weeks ago,” government spokeswoman Samira Rajab told AFP. “It has been New gen livens proved that this is a drone used by Iran and could be linked to the Iranian spy cells discovered in Saudi faded art scene Arabia and Bahrain,” said Rajab. It was unclear if the aircraft had crashed or was brought down in the KUWAIT: After two lacklustre decades, Kuwait is experi- area. Iran says it is developing drones to be used for encing a quiet revival of an arts scene once known as surveillance as well as for attacks. the most avant garde in the Gulf, thanks to a new gener- ation eager to tackle sensitive issues using cutting-edge FBI kills man linked art forms. The artists have been exhibiting works in the to Boston suspect graphic arts, photography, animation and fashion in pri- vate galleries but also bypassing traditional venues and MIAMI: A man being questioned by the FBI over the arts groups - and possible censorship - by showing their Boston Marathon bombings was killed yesterday in work online to reach an audience beyond the 3.7 million an altercation after becoming violent, the FBI said. people in Kuwait. US media outlets said the man knew one of the “They are creating an excellent buzz,” said Lucy Boston bombers and was shot by an FBI agent in the Topalian, who runs the Dar Al Funoon gallery in Kuwait early morning incident in Orlando, Florida.