UAE media interferes in Kuwait affairs as Emir health deteriorates
The United Arab Emirates media has been interfering in Kuwait’s affairs over the last days in light of the deteriorating health of the country’s Emir, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Official and popular Kuwaiti circles cautioned against an Emirati interference that aims to bring a figure close to Abu Dhabi’s politics to the position of Emir of Kuwait, in light of the UAE’s annoyance of the neutral role taken by Kuwait towards the Gulf crisis.
The Emir of Kuwait is currently in the United States where underwent surgery last Sunday that ended in success, according to the Emiri Diwan.
According to an Emiri order, the Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah will temporarily exercise some of the prince’s constitutional powers.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the fourth son of Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, assumed the rule of Kuwait in January 2006 and became the fifteenth prince of the state after Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah abdicated due to his health condition.
Informed sources told Emirates Lakes that recent announcement that UAE ambassador to Kuwait, Saqr Al-Raisi, ended his work came at the request of the Kuwaiti authorities, due to his suspicious behaviour in the country.
The sources confirmed that Kuwait asked Al-Raisi to leave the country within two weeks after discovering that he has participated in paying some Kuwaiti politicians and media professionals to mobilize them to support Abu Dhabi’s political positions.
According to the sources, a silent crisis was caused by Al-Raisi’s behaviours after he was exposed by the Kuwaiti authorities, that demanded the UAE withdraw its ambassador. While Abu Dhabi withdrew its ambassador, the Kuwaiti authorities preferred to remain silent about him.
Three days ago, Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Muhammad unexpectedly received Al-Raisi “on the occasion of the end of his term as an ambassador of his country to Kuwait,” as announced by the official Kuwaiti News Agency.
Nasser tried to maintain the diplomatic atmosphere in the relations with the Emirates by emphasizing keenness to “strengthen the strong bonds of fraternal relations between the two countries.”
Al-Raisi, 55, began his work as an ambassador to the Emirates in Kuwait in the beginning of 2019. He spent in his position only a year and a half, which is an unusually short period of time for an ambassador.
Al-Raisi was known during his work in Kuwait to be seeking to expand the UAE influence in the country by trying to mobilize politicians and media professionals to influence their positions with regard to the Gulf crisis. However, he failed to do so until he was exposed.
It is known that Kuwait is the main meditator to solve the Gulf crisis that started in mid-2007, following the announcement of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt to impose a blockade on Qatar. Abu Dhabi has ever since been the first obstacle to Kuwait’s efforts.
Weeks ago, the French news agency, Agence France-Presse, said in a report, quoting well-informed Arab sources and diplomats, said that the UAE is working with all its might to sabotage efforts to solve the Gulf crisis.
The agency quoted the sources as saying that Abu Dhabi does not want Gulf reconciliation to happen and is trying to keep Saudi Arabia and other countries boycotting and blockading Qatar.
The agency quoted two sources it described as familiar with the Gulf reconciliation negotiations, as saying that there are people in Abu Dhabi who are rejecting restoring the previous relations with Qatar.
About a year ago, Emirates Lakes revealed that Kuwait’s rejection of the blockade and Gulf crisis prompted the rulers of the Emirates to start a new plan to destabilize the security and stability of Kuwait by controlling the media in Kuwait to distort the image of the state just like in Egypt and Libya.
Meanwhile, Kuwaiti sources confirmed that the UAE has already started to implement this scenario and to purchase media outlets from Kuwaiti newspapers and channels, in order to guide and control the political decision in the future in Kuwait.
The beginning, according to the sources, consisted of buying a large portion of the shares of the establishment that owns the famous Kuwaiti newspaper “Al-Rai”. Al-Rai newspaper is considered one of the first influential newspapers in Kuwait along with Al-Qabas and Al-Jarida newspapers.
Al-Siyasa newspaper is affiliated with the blocked leaders and their political line, through the Saudi-Kuwaiti Ahmed Al-Jarallah, its owner and editor-in-chief.
Observers point out that the UAE is seeking to destabilize Kuwait because of its neutral stance towards the Gulf crisis, and the ruling family’s failure to respond to Saudi and Emirati demands to align them with them in the Gulf crisis.
