Sabah says minister has committed no mistakes

Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Kuwaiti Prime Minister, has again warned the country against sectarianism, the second time in three days, and has come out publicly in defence of Abu Al Hassan, Shiite Minister of Information Mohammad who is to be questioned by fundamentalist Sunni MPs on January 3.

Around 15 mostly pro-government and moderate MPs told the press after a two hour meeting with Shaikh Sabah to discuss the questioning of Abu Al Hassan, "Shaikh Sabah has informed us that he is prepared to use all his authority to preserve national unity.

"He has also informed us that Abu Al Hassan should not bear the responsibility of the issues mentioned in the questioning request because he is an honest person and has committed no mistakes." Shaikh Sabah defended Abu Al Hassan by saying, "The issue of implementing the Islamic Sharia in the country is not the minister's responsibility because the government is in charge of the issue.

"He also said there are no television stations in the world that do not broadcast parties or concerts," the MPs said. They further reported that because of the critical situation in the country the questioning may get out of hand and cause strife between Sunnis and Shiites.

"We must think of the country first. The events in Iraq are extremely relevant here and we do not want the issue blown out of proportion. I hope you will not arrive at a no-confidence motion against Abu Al Hassan", the MPs quoted Shaikh Sabah as saying.

The premier, however, reaffirmed the constitutional right of MPs to question the minister but added, on condition that it serves public interest.

Meanwhile, Jassem Al Khorafi, the speaker of the National Assembly, came out strongly in defence of the minister. "I am certain that the minister of information is capable of responding to the issues and I also wish that MPs will not judge him before they listen to his arguments," Al Khorafi told Al Watan.

On the subject of a cabinet reshuffle, the Speaker said, "Shaikh Sabah is the only person with the authority to change the government and frankly speaking his statements do not indicate that there will be any change in the government in the future."