AS Qatar RULER Hands Power to His
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SUBSCRIPTION WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2013 SHAABAN 17, 1434 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Obesity a Iran, Hezbollah ‘Password Serena restores widespread involvement in fatigue’ haunts order after the disease2 Syria ‘dangerous’9 masses27 shockwaves20 ‘New era’ as Qatar ruler Max 46º Min 33º hands power to his son High Tide 02:20 & 13:05 Low Tide Kuwait, Gulf rulers congratulate young Emir 07:42 & 20:37 40 PAGES NO: 15851 150 FILS DOHA: Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Qataris sad handed power yesterday to his son, Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim, in a rare abdication by a hereditary Gulf Arab ruler to try to ensure a smooth succession. The US- but hopeful allied state is small, with 2 million people, but is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, a global DOHA: Even before Qatar’s emir Sheikh Hamad bin investment powerhouse and heavy hitter in Middle East Khalifa Al-Thani delivered his early-morning abdication diplomacy and international media. speech yesterday, citizens in white traditional dish- Qatar has also been a high-profile supporter of Arab dashas were lining up outside the palace to swear alle- Spring uprisings but remains an absolutist monarchy giance to the new ruler, his son. Qataris received the itself, a system unchallenged by a population that news with mixed emotions as the 61-year-old emir, who enjoys great affluence. Thousands of Qatari citizens came to power in a coup in which he overthrew his own thronged the emiri court in the capital Doha to pledge father 18 years ago, announced he will cede power to his allegiance to the 33-year-old new head of state after the son, crown prince Sheikh Tamim, 33. emir, 61, announced the handover. “The time has come “We are sad for the departure of the builder of mod- to turn a new page in the journey of our nation and ern Qatar but are also pleased with the continuity of (the have a new generation carry out responsibilities ... with line of) power,” said Hamad Al-Hijji. The 37-year-old their innovative ideas,” Sheikh Hamad said in a seven- financial expert, accompanied by his brother, waited minute speech broadcast on state television. patiently to greet the new Emir, unlike hundreds of oth- “I address you today to inform you that I will transfer ers who turned back when they saw the vast crowds power to Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. I am fully outside the palace. confident that he is qualified for the responsibility and Under the scorching sun, scores waited in long lines is trustworthy,” he added, seated beside Qatar’s red-and- outside the large white seaside building in Doha. Sheikh white flag. Sheikh Hamad made no mention of Sheikh Hamad, using the tiny Gulf state’s vast wealth generated Hamad bin Jassim, the veteran prime minister and for- by its enormous gas deposits, had transformed Qatar eign minister who is the public face of Qatar’s assertive into a political and economic powerhouse with multi- foreign policy and had been expected to step down as billion-dollar investments across the world. No official well. reason has been given for the abdication, although the Gulf political analysts said they anticipated no signifi- emir is known to suffer from kidney problems. cant changes to foreign or domestic policy after the Officials and diplomats say however that the Sheikh’s handover, noting that Sheikh Tamim was already handing over of power was not linked to health issues DOHA: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (center) congratulates Sheikh involved in running the peninsular state under his but rather a determination to bring a younger leader- Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (left) and his son Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani on his accession father’s direction. ship to the fore. Tamim’s accession makes him the to the leadership of Qatar as the new ruler of the state. — KUNA Continued on Page 15 youngest sovereign of any of the Gulf Arab monarchies. Hijji said he hoped the historic transition would “encour- age other Arab countries to undertake similar rejuvena- tions” in their political systems. Autocratic rulers in the 3 scenarios at Constitutional Court Arab world had held power uncontested for decades until the Arab Spring revolutions that toppled regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Election either in late July or months later By ceding power at his age, “Sheikh Hamad, con- By B Izzak election date now hangs on the explana- The 2009 Assembly was dissolved in if that Assembly should be reinstated. cerned about the national interest, gives a lesson to oth- tion of the court. December 2011 following street protests If the court says there is no need to er Arab leaders who cling to power,” agrees a Qatari KUWAIT: The Constitutional Court is set The Constitutional Court, whose rul- and fresh elections were held in February revive that Assembly, then the election father. The 29-year-old customs employee, who declined today to issue an explanation to its histor- ings are final, has three scenarios regard- last year which resulted in an opposition- will most probably will be held late July to be named, added that he had been inspired by the ical ruling it issued on June 16 which is ing the explanation request which was dominated Assembly that was dissolved possibly on July 27 after the election “wisdom of Sheikh Hamad” in choosing to give up pow- expected to have an immediate impact filed by Abdulhameed Dashti, a member four months later by a constitutional decree is published either today or er. A young Qatari woman clad in a black traditional on the election date with the possibility of the scrapped Assembly. It will either court ruling which also ordered that the tomorrow. If the court says the 2009 abaya, sitting in a coffee shop in a shopping centre on to delay the polls for months. The council reject the request and decline to issue an 2009 Assembly must be revived. Assembly must be revived, then elections the outskirts of Doha, voiced mixed feelings. of ministers on Monday decided to halt all explanation on the grounds that the rul- That Assembly could not meet are not likely to be held in summer and “I am saddened by the departure of the father of this procedures regarding the election until ing was clear or it may accept the request because most MPs boycotted its sessions, are expected to be in October. nation under whose reign I had lived and grown up,” the court has issued its explanation. but set another date to issue the explana- forcing the government to recommend This can also happen if the court says she told AFP. “But I’m reassured about the future with Among the procedures affected was tion. to the Amir to dissolve it for the second that an Amiri decree must be issued to the enthronement of Sheikh Tamim, who is young but halting the publication of the election The third option is for the court to time. The Amir dissolved it on October 7 dissolve the scrapped Assembly elected mature.” Abdelaziz Al-Duhaimen, a 34-year-old official decree in the official gazette which effec- make the explanation in today’s session last year and new elections were held on last December. Under this scenario, the from the National Olympic Committee, headed by tively made it not possible to hold the explaining how the ruling should be December 1 within the 60-day legal peri- government can have the liberty in wait- Tamim, was upbeat. “This change offers a chance for election on July 25 as was announced implemented. The argument is whether od. Again, the new Assembly was dis- ing several weeks to issue the decree, young Qataris who, like Sheikh Tamim, are well-trained earlier. This is because the law requires the 2009 Assembly should be revived solved by the Constitutional Court which then several more weeks to publish the and competent enough to take new responsibilities,” the decree to be published by at least one after the court ruling although it had did not order reviving the 2009 Assembly. election decree and at least a month until he said. month before the election date. So, the already been dissolved on two occasions. The explanation request asked the court the election date. Continued on Page 15 US has no ‘plan B’ for naval base in Bahrain Kuwait’s Shuabia, Qatar seen as alternative WASHINGTON: The US military has failed to prepare a realistic “plan B” if political turmoil forces the closure of a vital naval base in Bahrain, a naval officer argues in a report released yesterday. The Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain is the most US important maritime base in the Middle East but senior officers have become com- placent about its future, Commander Richard McDaniel asserts. “Surprisingly, military leaders have no ‘Plan B’ if strategic access in Bahrain is jeopardized,” McDaniel wrote, in a paper published by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “Because of a strong desire to support the govern- ment of Bahrain, losing critical access is not currently being considered, and strategic basing alternatives are not being developed.” The loss of the base “could leave the United States without a key maritime base during a critical juncture of heightened tensions in the Middle East,” wrote McDaniel, who cited interviews with unnamed US officers. His report warns the United States was caught ill-prepared and off-guard by political upheavals in the past-in Iran in 1979 and in the Philippines in 1991 - which saw Washington lose access SANABIS: A Bahraini Shiite man punches his fist into the air as he and thousands to crucial bases.