Kuwait: Security crackdown on Bedoon community renews tensions

Kuwait: Security crackdown on Bedoon community renews tensions Turkish air force fighter jets perform a fly over on February 25, 2014 during celebrations to mark Kuwait's 53rd National Day and the 23rd Liberation Day.(Photo: AFP-Yasser al-Zayyat) By: Yazan al-Saadi Published Friday, March 21, 2014 More than three years after the Bedoon (stateless Arabs) community in Kuwait launched demonstrations to highlight their decades-long plight, tensions have resurfaced in the tiny oil-rich country as security forces conducted crackdowns and arrests over the past month against activists and protesters. On February 18, during a demonstration marking the third anniversary of a renewed round of Bedoon protests in Kuwait, a Bedoon activist named Abdullah Atallah spoke for a few minutes in front of a small crowd of protesters. “They pay more for animal stables than they do for our homes. We live in misery.” In a video of the short speech posted on YouTube, Atallah is seen holding the pre-1961 red Kuwaiti flag, flanked by local media, standing in front of a group of young men that includes minors. In the distance, a cluster of security forces stand watching the scene. “You are all used to this life, from the moment you were born you are used to this life. If you were living between [Kuwaiti citizens], my Kuwaiti uncles live between them, and you can see the difference,” Atallah bellowed. “They pay more for animal stables than they do for our homes. We live in misery.” Atallah then harshly criticized former and current officials of the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry, describing them as “criminals” for the policy of repression and mistreatment towards the Bedoon community. He capped these statements by directing a message to the Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah: “We thought before that you did not know of our plight, but now there is media exposure, so I want to tell you that you are to blame for this.” It was a bold statement that ultimately led to his arrest while he was driving later in the evening. According to various statements by eyewitnesses of the arrest, including a Kuwaiti MP, Atallah was chased by police vehicles, who smashed into his car in order to stop him. He was charged with insulting the Kuwaiti emir, vandalizing security vehicles, and taking part in unauthorized protests. Atallah could face up to five years in prison. The arrest of Atallah – and another Bedoon activist, Yousef al-Zhairy, that same night – was met with criticism by Bedoon and Kuwaiti activists, progressive and Islamic political organizations, and from a few members of the Kuwaiti parliament. Subsequently, a cycle of protests and arrests by security forces began. The status of Kuwait’s Bedoons “From 2011, the Bedoon movement was marked by peaceful demonstrations calling for the authorities to solve the issues once and for all,” a 39-year-old Bedoon activist, who lives in Jahra and works as an unofficial dentist, told Al-Akhbar on the condition of anonymity due to the situation's sensitivity. “There are generations of stateless people, who are denied their basic rights such as marriage certificates, access to health and education, and other things,”“There are generations of stateless people, who are denied their basic rights such as marriage certificates, access to health and education, and other things,” he said. “The Kuwaiti citizen can demonstrate in public spaces, while the Bedoon cannot. If I may say this, the Bedoon is basically a second-class citizen in Kuwait.” The Bedoon are Arabs without any citizenship, whether because they are children of Kuwaiti mothers married to non-Kuwaiti fathers, their ancestors did not register in an important census during independence, or by various government measures in the 1980s and 1990s that severely restricted their rights. A rare Human Rights Watch report released in June 2011 outlined these restrictions, centering particularly on Kuwait's discriminatory nationality laws as the essential barrier in solving the issue. The exact number of Kuwait's Bedoons is unknown. Government estimates hover below 100,000, while the community and activists estimate the number as high as 130,000, with another 100,000 Kuwaiti Bedoon forced to reside outside the country. Inspired by the numerous uprisings besetting the region at the time, thousands of Bedoons organized and launched protests in February 2011 that continued sporadically over the years. The authorities responded with arrests and crackdowns, but also promised in 2013 that the Executive Committee for Illegal Residents, established to administer the everyday affairs of the Bedoon, would aim to nationalize 4,000 Bedoons per year. “Not one Bedoon has been granted nationality by the committee, even if they had their documents proving that they and their families have been living in Kuwait since its inception,” the Bedoon activist said. He asked: “What are [the authorities] waiting for? Do they want people to start dying from hunger or medical problems before they do something?” The lackluster approach by the committee, most likely due to the political instability and the government's unwillingness to reform Kuwaiti nationality laws, have only worked to greatly enhance Bedoon discontent. “Half the Kuwaiti army was made up of Bedoon. How is it possible that a Bedoon could be issued a license to drive a tank, but was and is still not allowed the basic licenses to survive in the country,” the dentist said, “It's simply outrageous.” The growing frustration came to ahead after the recent arrest of Atallah. Daily protests were held in the areas of Jahra and Taima'a, where most of the community resides, demanding the release of the Bedoon activist and other prisoners. In response, the security forces crackdown harshly, arresting more activists and organizers. In addition, officials from the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry threatened families of those protesting, warning that they could lose their jobs or be deported from the country. Minors facing abuse Currently, there are three Bedoon activist held by the Kuwaiti authorities: Abdullah Atallah, Abdulhakim al-Fadhli, and his brother Abdul Nasser. Other Bedoon prisoners have been released on bail and are awaiting trial. One of those who was arrested and later released was a 12-year-old boy named Ali Habib. “We got a call at home by security forces demanding that Ali be handed over,” Ali Habibi's brother Ghanim told Al-Akhbar. “Half the Kuwaiti army was made up of Bedoon. How is it possible that a Bedoon could be issued a license to drive a tank, but was and is still not allowed the basic licenses to survive in the country,”“We were surprised, honestly. The next couple of days were holidays and we knew that if Ali went to security, his case wouldn't be worked on during this time and he would be alone in prison, so we waited until the following Sunday for my father to take him to the security forces.” Habib, dressed in his school clothes, was slapped with seven charges, including blocking streets and vandalizing security vehicles. He was immediately placed in a small, white room. Ghanim saw the room when he visited his younger brother. “If you were an older person in an empty room, you would go mad after one or two hours. There were no windows, no chairs, no bed, nothing. I had brought him dinner but they refused to allow me to give it to him. I saw him and he was weeping. He's a child and didn't understand what was going on.” Habib was taken to court the next day, and during the trial the police officer who was called as a witness said that the minor was not involved in any destruction of security property. Despite this, Habib returned to the room for another day and was released on a 200 Kuwait dinar (KD), which is about $700, bail. He is still facing other charges. “His future is over,” Ghanim said, “They won't let him travel freely, they will likely confiscate his IDs, and they might put him in jail again.” Ali Habib's case as a minor is not unusual. In fact, Bedoon minors are commonly harassed, beaten and arrested by security forces, as a documentary by the Kuwaiti NGO Group 29 details. “This is a small example of the issues Bedoons have been facing for decades,” Ghanim told Al-Akhbar. “My family has documents from the 1960s proving that we have been living here since the beginning and they we are part of the tribes that come from here. Over 120,000 individuals are slipping through the cracks. The authorities have made promises upon promises for a long time, and nothing changed.” In Ghanim's case, beyond frustrations over what happened to his brother, he spoke of other personal problems arising as a Bedoon. According to the 29-year-old, he works with the Ministry of Health for almost 12 hours a day on a salary of 160 KD, which is about $569. In comparison, his Kuwaiti colleagues work half the time, and earn a salary of 1000 KD ($3,550) per month. “I ask you, is this fair?” he said. Torture and hunger strikes Fortunately for Ali Habib, his brother noted, he had not experienced any physical torture, only insults and harsh statements by the security forces. It was reportedly different for the other three prisoners, Atallah and the al-Fadhli bothers. According to statements by family members, activists, and lawyers in touch with the detainees, the three Bedoon prisoners have been beaten by security forces, hung from their feet, and occasionally left in dark cells. One of the prisoners – Abdulhakim – was threatened with rape during an interrogation. On March 17, the court extended the three prisoners’ detention for 10 more days. “This is the third time this has happened, without any clear reasons,” Bashayer al-Fadhli, the sister of the two brothers, told Al-Akhbar. “Nothing is clear about this case, and God only knows what is happening.” According to Kuwaiti law, a prisoner is allowed one visitation from relatives and friends per week, however the family members of the detainees have consistently been denied access to them. “My father and older brother were not even allowed to go see them in court,” Bashayer noted. “This is a continual issue in our family and youths in the community, the consistent detainment, the unclear charges, the abuse and harassment. The authorities are conducting acts that are legal, and sometimes illegal, to send a message to other activists,” she said, pointing to the fact that Kuwaiti law is unclear on the punishment of Bedoons since they are neither citizens nor foreigners. “The near future doesn't look promising. The government has no plan, and is only concerned about the public relations aspect of this issue, how this could affect the prestige of the country. The authorities like to present themselves as supporters of international law and human rights, but they are not even implementing it in the country,” she added. Due to their circumstances, the three detainees announced on March 17 in a letter smuggled out of prison that they will conduct a hunger strike until they are released. “The cause has nothing left to lose, we have already experienced this at a great cost. But it is worth it, if you are silent you will not get anything in return. A human being cannot accept this treatment,” Bashayer said. “We are Kuwaitis” International organizations and other countries are not helping us. There is a blindness and silence. I hold them responsible.“This is one of the biggest challenges facing Kuwait. The Bedoon cause has been ignored for more than 50 years, and their rights have been stripped over time. The problem has become more serious than ever,” 27-year-old Kuwaiti activist Nawaf al-Hindal said to Al-Akhbar. “Not much has changed for the Bedoon since 2011, and opinions within the Kuwaiti public are varied,” he said, “and many are really blind to the issue.” Of great concern to Hindal and his peers in Kuwaiti civil society is the fact that the charges are justified under national security and defamation against the emir. “All the charges against the Bedoon detainees, in particular the three who remain, are strange. One was arrested for the alleged acts of his brother, another is charged with defaming the emir without any explanation to what was the defamation, and they were charged with attacking and vandalizing security vehicles when in fact they were victims of the attack,” Hindal said. “The charges have no link to reality,” he said, further adding that since 2012 Kuwait has exceedingly relied on Emiri defamation charges against any person who criticizes a policy. “More than 250 cases are based on this charge. Kuwait is now the leading user of the emiri defamation charge in the world.” At the moment, the Bedoon cause has rallied around the release of the three remaining prisoners, and protests will likely continue to break out as long as the government does not grant the Bedoon citizenship and their basic rights. But for that to happen, immense and international pressure has to be applied on the Kuwaiti authorities to act in a constructive manner. That is not happening. “We do not know what steps we can take,” the Bedoon activist-dentist from Jahra remarked to Al-Akhbar. “International organizations and other countries are not helping us. There is a blindness and silence. I hold them responsible.” After Atallah concluded his fateful speech a month ago, protesters cried out, “In a loud voice, in a loud voice, we are Kuwaitis until death, we are Kuwaitis until death.” Clearly, the Bedoon’s struggle in Kuwait is far from over. ================== الكويت (CNN)- فرضت "سياسة التضييق" التي بدأت الحكومة الكويتية في انتهاجها ضد عديمي الجنسية، أو من يُطلق عليهم "البدون"، منذ منتصف ثمانينات القرن الماضي، حتى وقت قريب، على أبناء هذه الفئة اتباع أساليب جديدة للتحايل والالتفاف على ما تتضمنه تلك السياسة من إجراءات وممارسات، اعتبروا أنها تجحف بحقوقهم. وبحسب ما علمت CNN بالعربية من ناشطين حقوقيين كويتيين، ومن خلال مقابلات مع عدد من أبناء فئة "البدون"، فإن "وثيقة التضييق" على من تسميهم الحكومة الكويتية "المقيمون بصورة غير قانونية"، قد صدرت في عام 1986، إلا أنه تم العمل بها على نطاق واسع، في أعقاب "الغزو" العراقي للكويت، عام 1992. وكان المغزى من الوثيقة، التي صدرت بشكل سري، وعن لجنة حكومية سرية، أن هناك عدد كبير من عديمي الجنسية يعيشون في الكويت، على الدولة أن تتخلص منهم، من خلال الضغط والتضييق عليهم، بحرمانهم من الضمان الصحي، والتعليم، وعدم إصدار شهادات الميلاد أو الوفاة، بل وحتى وثائق الزواج لهم. وذكرت الناشطة الحقوقية الكويتية، رنا العبدالرزاق، عضو "مجموعة 29"، التي تستند في اسمها إلى المادة 29 من الدستور الكويتي، أنه "بعد الغزو، وجدت الحكومة ذريعة لها لتنفيذ سياسة التضييق على البدون على نطاق واسع، مع توظيف واستغلال اتهامات بحقهم، بأنهم قاموا بالتعاون ومساعدة الجيش العراقي." ولفتت الناشطة الكويتية، في تصريحات لـCNN بالعربية، إلى أن الأجهزة الحكومية، قبل الغزو، كانت تعتبر في تقديراتها الرسمية، أن نسبة تتراوح بين 50 و60 في المائة من البدون هم من أصول سعودية، ولكن الحال تبدل بعد الغزو، حيث صارت التقديرات تقول إن نسبة 50 إلى 60 في المائة منهم من أصول عراقية. وكنتيجة لـ"سياسة التضييق"، لم يكن بإمكان أبناء البدون الحصول على حقهم في التعليم، حتى أصبح هناك جيل كامل من غير المتعلمين، بدءاً من عام 1986 حتى عام 2003، عندما تداركت الحكومة المشكلة، وقامت بإنشاء "صندوق التعليم"، الذي يساهم في تكاليف تعليم البدون في المدارس الخاصة، دون السماح لهم بالالتحاق بالمدارس الحكومية. إلا أن "الأمر الأسوأ"، بحسب عدد من أبناء البدون، طلبوا من CNN بالعربية عدم ذكر أسمائهم حرصاً على سلامتهم، تمثل في حرمانهم من شهادات الميلاد ووثائق الزواج، الأمر الذي دفعهم إلى اللجوء لما وصفوها بـ"أساليب قانونية" للتحايل على ذلك "الواقع المرير"، الذي فرضته الحكومة على حياتهم. فعلى سبيل المثال، عندما كان شاب وفتاة من البدون يرغبان في الزواج، كانا يقومان بعقد القران وإتمام الزواج "شرعاً" أمام أحد شيوخ المساجد، بحضور أسرتيهما، إلا أنهما لم يكن بإمكانهما الحصول على وثيقة رسمية تفيد بزواجهما، وفي حالة الإنجاب لم يكن باستطاعتهما أيضاً الحصول على شهادة ميلاد لطفلهما. وللالتفاف على ذلك، كان أحد الزوجين أو كلاهما يقوم برفع دعوى "زنا" ضد الآخر، أمام المحكمة، التي كانت في العادة تصدر أحكامها بتزويجهما، وبالتالي يحصلان على وثيقة رسمية تثبت زواجهما ، أما بالنسبة للأطفال، فكانا يسلكان نفس الطريق، عن طريق رفع دعوى "إثبات نسب"، للحصول على حكم قضائي بنسبه إليهما. أما في حالة إذا ما أقدم أحد أبناء البدون على الزواج من فتاة كويتية، فإن حياتهما الزوجية ستظل على الدوام "مهددة"، حيث أن القوانين المعمول بها في الدولة النفطية الخليجية، تمنع أبنائهما من الحصول على الجنسية الكويتية، إلا في حالة إذا ما وقع الطلاق بينهما، بل ويجب أن يكون الطلاق "بائناً لا رجعة فيه." وبالفعل، كما أكد ناشطون كويتيون لـCNN بالعربية، كانت بعض الأسر الكويتية تشجع بناتها المتزوجات من أزواج من البدون، على الطلاق من زوجها لـ"ضمان مستقبل أبنائها"، فيما كانت أخريات تتفق مع أزواجهن على أن يتم الطلاق بينهما "بشكل صوري"، على أن يعودا لمواصلة حياتهما معاً "بصورة غير قانونية." وفي حالة إذا ما حدث العكس، أي زواج شاب كويتي بفتاة من البدون، فإن الأمر لا يخلو من "تهديد خطير" يهدد مستقبل أسرة الفتاة بأكملها، حيث يتوجب على الفتاة أن تقدم وثيقة تحمل جنسيتها لإتمام مراسم الزواج، ونظراً لأنها من "عديمي الجنسية"، كان عليها أن تختار لنفسها أي "جنسية"، تضعها في وثيقة الزواج. إلا أنه في حالة إذا ما اختارت الفتاة لنفسها جنسية غير كويتية، سرعان ما تقوم الحكومة بإدراج أسرتها بأكملها تحت هذه الجنسية، الأمر الذي يفقدها أحد شروط الحصول على الجنسية الكويتية، في الوقت الذي لا يوجد فيه لدى الأسرة أي وثيقة تفيد بحملها تلك الجنسية الأخرى. وعن هذه "الأساليب" التي كان يلجأ إليها أبناء البدون للالتفاف على ما فرضته عليهم "سياسة التضييق"، اعتبرت العبدالرزاق أن "تلك السياسة خلقت واقعاً مريراً تمتهن فيه كرامة البدون، كما خلقت أساليب غريبة ودخيلة على المجتمع الكويتي، أساليب للتحايل والتلاعب.. مازال المجتمع الكويتي يدفع ثمنها حتى الآن." إلا أن الناشطة الكويتية أكدت أن هذا الواقع قد تغير عام 2011، عندما قررت الحكومة الاستجابة لمطالب البدون، الذي بدأوا في النزول إلى الشوارع، في احتجاجات غير مسبوقة في الكويت، حيث تم منحهم 11 ميزة، من بينها الحق في الحصول على شهادات ووثائق ثبوتية رسمية. ووفق "الجهاز المركزي لمعالجة أوضاع المقيمين بصورة غير قانونية" في الكويت، وهو جهاز حكومي يتبع رئاسة مجلس الوزراء، فإن القرار الذي يحمل رقم 409 لسنة 2011، يتضمن "تقديم المزايا والخدمات والتسهيلات في المجالات الإنسانية والاجتماعية والمدنية." ويشمل القرار، الذي اطلعت CNN بالعربية على نسخة منه، 11 ميزة، هي: العلاج، التعليم، إصدار شهادات الميلاد، إصدار التوثيقات الخاصة بالوصايا والإرث، إصدار وثائق الزواج، إصدار شهادات الطلاق، إصدار شهادات الوفاة، إصدار رخص قيادة السيارات، العمل، منح البطاقة التموينية، رعاية ذوي الإعاقة ================== Kuwait (CNN) - imposed "policy tightening" which began Kuwaiti government pursued against stateless, or so-called "bidoon", since the mid-eighties of the last century, until recently, the people of this category new approaches to circumvent and circumvent the Provisions That policy of procedures and practices, they considered prejudice their rights. According to what I learned CNN Arabic from human rights activists Kuwaitis, and through interviews with a number of the children of the category of "bidoon", "the document harassment" against what it calls the Kuwaiti government "illegal residents", was issued in 1986, but he has been working out on a large scale, in the wake of the "invasion" of Iraq to Kuwait, in 1992. The significance of the document, which was issued in secret, and the government committee secret, that there are a large number of stateless persons living in Kuwait, the state should get rid of them, through pressure and restricting them, depriving them of health insurance, education, and non-issuance of birth certificates or death, and even documents to marry them. According to human rights activist Kuwait, Rana Abdulrazzaq, a member of the "Group of 29", which are based on its name to the Article 29 of the Kuwaiti Constitution, that "after the invasion, and the government found its pretext to implement a policy of restricting the Bedoons widely, with recruitment and exploitation charges against them, they They cooperate and assist the Iraqi army. " She drew active Kuwait, in a statement to CNN Arabic, to government agencies, prior to the invasion, were considered in the estimates official, that the rate of between 50 and 60 per cent of Bedoons are the assets of Saudi Arabia, but the situation changed after the invasion, where she has estimates say that the proportion of 50 to 60 per cent of Iraqi assets. As a result of "policy tightening", could not sons Bedoons get their right to education, so there has been a whole generation of uneducated, starting from 1986 until 2003, when remedied government problem, and the establishment of "Education Fund", which contributes to the the cost of education in private schools Bedoons, without allowing them to attend public schools. However, "It's the worst," according to the number of sons Bedoons, asked CNN Arabic anonymity for safety reasons, was the denial of birth certificates, marriage certificates, which caused them to resort to what they described as "legal means" to circumvent it, "reality bitter ", imposed by the government on their lives. For example, when he was a young man and a girl from Bedoons wanted to get married, who were on the holding of the Koran and the completion of the marriage "legally" in front of one of the elders of the mosques, in the presence of their families, but they did not they could get an official document stating their marriage, in the case of reproduction did not can, together also to obtain a birth certificate for their child. To get around that, it was one or both spouses is suing "weight" against the other, in front of the court, which was in the habit issue judgments Ptzoejehma, and thus ACQUIRE an official document to prove their marriage, but for the children, Vkana are walking down the same way, by filing "prove lineage," to get a court ruling percentage of them. In the case if one of the oldest sons Bedoons to marry a Kuwaiti girl, the marital life will always be "threatened", as the laws in force in the Gulf oil state, to prevent their children from getting Kuwaiti citizenship, but in the case of the event of divorce between them, and even divorce must be "irrevocable and irreversible." Indeed, as confirmed activists Kuwaitis told CNN in Arabic, some Kuwaiti families encourage their daughters married couples Bedoons, a divorce from her husband to "ensure the future of their children," while others were consistent with their husbands to be divorced "in My", that longer to continue their life together "illegally." In case if the opposite happens, any marriage young Kuwaiti girl Bedoons, the matter is not free from "a serious threat" threatens the future of the girl's family as a whole, where we have a girl has to submit a document bearing their nationality to complete the marriage ceremony, and since they are of the "stateless" , she had to choose for themselves what "sex", put it in the marriage certificate. However, in case if she chooses for herself nationality non-Kuwaiti, soon the government to insert her entire family under this sexuality, which loses one of the conditions for obtaining the Kuwaiti citizenship, at a time where there is no family has any document stating carry those other sexual. And these "methods" that was used by the sons Bedoons to circumvent what imposed on them "policy tightening", considered Abdulrazzaq that "this policy has created a reality humiliating the dignity Bedoons, also created ways are strange and alien to Kuwaiti society, methods to circumvent and manipulate .. still Kuwaiti society paid for yet. " However, the active Kuwaiti confirmed that this fact may change in 2011, when the government decided to respond to the demands of Bedoons, which began to take to the streets in unprecedented protests in Kuwait, where he was granted 11 feature, including the right to receive certificates and documents proving official . According to the "Central to address the situation of illegal residents" in Kuwait, a government agency follows the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the decision, which bears the number 409 for the year 2011, includes the "provision of benefits and services and facilities in the fields of humanities and social and civil rights." This includes the decision, which was seen CNN Arabic, a copy of .11 advantage, are: treatment, education, birth certificates, issuing endorsements own commandments and inheritance, issuing marriage documents, the issuance of certificates of divorce, the issuance of death certificates, issuance of driving licenses, work, grant ration card, care for people with disabilities =====================