people around the world yearn for disciplined freedom, which cannot be attained without knowing the real essence of democracy. it is the democracy that gives one the freedom to practice their faith, to express one’s ideas, freedom of movement and most importantly the freedom of expression – written and verbal – albeit what is permissible by the law.
we want d e m o c r a c y because it allows us to frame our laws and devise our plans for our livelihood. we need to have a role in legislating our laws and our livelihood system. we want democracy to ensure we are not arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned. we want democracy to ensure no one is subjected to torture and denied human rights. we want the type of democracy that punishes the violators of the law.
we want a democracy that guarantees us the right to live and work. we want a democracy in which we can exercise our rights to choose our representatives. we want a democracy that provides us with a fair judiciary, and the right to dispute it. we want a democracy in which the judiciary is fair. we want democracy which protects public money and democracy which guarantees equal opportunities.
we want a democracy that offers decent education for our children, better healthcare, a way to preserve our national wealth, and greater honesty in investing the assets of our future generations. we want democracy because we yearn to live in freedom and dignity and all these we cannot enjoy under dictatorial regimes.
the question: the life that we live in our homeland can be considered democracy? the answer may vary from person to person. but without going into too much detail, it is clear that we live in a special kind of democracy.
the democracy in a society cannot be complete where religious, tribal and sectarian fanaticism is at its best. there can be no democracy in a society that is ignorant because in an ignorant environment people tend to forget their rights and obligations towards society.
there is no democracy without the freedom of the press and there is no democracy in a class-based society.
as a matter of fact, our democracy is not special, it is a distorted democracy which needs to be reformed and treated, in order for our democracy to be complete, and it is not so except in a few countries which can be counted on the fingers tips to truly enjoy the minimum of its components.
this cannot be achieved without review and reconsideration. in our political experience and practices, and in the relationship between the components of society, disbelief in democracy has become common, and this is what some short-sighted people have always aspired to, or dreamers of plundering the nation’s wealth.
nevertheless, with the recent local and global developments, and the decline in state income which is less than half, we are faced with total belief in the impossibility of, or the difficulty of, maintaining political, economic, and other conditions as they are, and therefore we have two options – either we follow a new path through which things are managed in the utmost degree of solidarity between the two components of the two pillars of the nation, through a democracy that guarantees more freedoms or allows the situation to remain as it is and wait for the imminent ruin.
the budget deficit is staring in the face. it is no more an illusion. everyone who earlier criticized us for warning the nation that a catastrophe is around the corner, but understand it is impossible to prudently manage matters under the current legislative system because the only and i repeat the only solution lies in a viable democratic system and it is not difficult if the intentions are good.
i am not in favor of reserving the three parliamentary committees, especially in their first formation, and before the withdrawal of some of the members, and with the reservation of a number of their members, who belong to the extremist religious trend.
in the meantime, i believe the only way to protect human rights in kuwait and achieve justice is to accept the ‘challenge’ to amend the 1962 constitution for a better formula that guarantees greater freedoms, through the application of the system of proportional lists.
will the members of the three committees possess the will and intention to reach a formula to do away with the primaries (byelections) to minimize the dangers of sectarianism and tribalism and achieve more freedom?