Arab News
Threatened with impeachment by the National Assembly (parliament), Kuwait's Minister of Information Muhammad Abol-Hassan has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Ahmad Al Jaber, it was officially confirmed yesterday. Abol-Hassan faced a storm of protests from the Parliament and the press when the state-owned television broadcast a documentary about the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last week. In it Arafat was described as a hero, a combatant for faith, and a martyr. Many Kuwaitis, however, regard Arafat as a treacherous opportunist who, having received vast sums of money from Kuwait, supported Saddam Hussein's invasion and annexation of Kuwait in 1990.
Members of Parliament published an open letter last week calling for Abol-Hassan's impeachment. His resignation appears to be a pre-emptive measure designed to prevent a debate in the Parliament. A minister who has resigned traditionally stays away from parliamentary sessions until the prime minister decides his fate. Abol-Hassan's critics say his resignation is a maneuver to avoid impeachment, and that he has already agreed with the prime minister that he should be reinstated once the storm blows over. "Arafat was a traitor to the Palestinian and the Arab peoples in general," says Parliament member Muhammad Barrak-Matir. "It is a shame that our national television should describe the traitor as a hero and a combatant." |