IPT IO N SC R SU B
SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2011
Car bomb blast in Aden kills 5
No: 15130
RAJAB 23, 1432 AH
Gaddafi, rebels talk via intermediaries
Roddick and Zvonareva crash out of Wimbledon
150 Fils
7Syrian 8protesters 48 defy army’s guns 12 killed as Syrian forces fire on protesters
Max 46º Min 34º
MSAL lifts visa ban KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) has lifted an earlier ban on issuing work permits to Afghani, Pakistani, Iraqi, Syrian and Iranian expatriate workers. An MSAL insider said that the decision, which comes into effect from the end of this month, also covers the renewal of previously issued work permits and applies to all those in the aforementioned groups without exception. Meanwhile, an MSAL official said that the objective behind the ministry’s decision to allow expatriate workers to transfer their visas to ‘code 71’ status was to solve the problem of ‘fake labor,’ workers brought to the country by human traffickers on the promise of jobs but actually issued with work permits for non-existent companies. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the insider said that the aim is to crack down on those involved in trafficking these workers, and that the workers themselves were not accused of any wrongdoing. — Agencies
Concubines for women? By A Saleh KUWAIT: After generating controversy with her recent proposal to allow Kuwaiti men to buy enslaved concubines in order to protect them (the men) from adultery, local activist Salwa Al-Mutairi is at it again. This time, she’s proposing the introduction of legislation to allow unmarried or divorced women to buy and marry male sex slaves, on condition that the slaves pay a symbolic dowry beforehand. Al-Mutairi, the owner of a matrimonial agency, insisted that this would be a sensible solution to the problems faced by single women in the Arab world, adding that unmarried women could buy the male slaves they want, who must be white and of the same nationality as the female concubines. Two weeks ago, Al-Mutairi proposed the introduction of similar legislation to allow single and divorced men to import enslaved concubines to satisfy their sexual desire whilst protecting them (the men) from adultery. Al-Mutairi asserted that any Muslim has the right to buy Russian female concubines aged between 15 and 25 captured by Chechen forces, paying KD2,500 to the captor for each one, as well as giving a monthly stipend of KD50 to each enslaved woman. Asked yesterday why she had chosen Russians in particular as being suitable for slavery, Al-Mutairi said, “They are not Muslims and they are at war with a Muslim country; that’s as well as the fact that Russian women are beautiful and enjoy white skin, which is a color that brings the woman’s character out.” Al-Mutairi further suggested that the enslaved girls and women should have the right to leave their male owners after five years because after this period the men would become bored with them. The matrimonial agency owner suggested that reintroducing sex slavery would be a pragmatic way of resolving the social problems caused by prostitution, allowing men to satisfy their sexual needs whilst avoiding the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
KUWAIT: MPs Mohammed Hayef and Faisal Mislem yesterday joined huge numbers of supporters gathered at the Irada (Determination Square) in support of anti-Syrian government protests named as ‘Support Friday for Syria.’ —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat BEIRUT: Security forces opened fire yesterday as thousands of anti-government protesters took to Syria’s streets in a weekly ritual of defiance and demands for President Bashar Assad’s ouster, activists said. They said at least 12 people, including two children, were killed in Damascus and elsewhere. Four were killed in Barzeh, a Damascus district 3 miles from the city center, said Syria-based human rights activist Mustafa Osso. He said they were felled by security forces’ guns. But Syrian state television said gunmen, otherwise unidentified, had opened fire on security personnel and civilians, killing three civilians and wounding several security force members. Three other fatalities occurred in Al-Kasweh, a suburb of the capital; four in the central city of Homs, and one in Hama, also in central Syria, said the Local Coordination Committees, which track the Syrian protests. Protests in several other provinces also came under fire but it was not immediately clear whether there were casualties, said a spokesman for the group, Omar Idilbi. The committees said the deaths included a 12-year-old boy, Rateb Al-Orabi, killed when security forces fired on protesters in the Shammas neighborhood in Homs, and a 13-year old boy in Al-Kasweh. The reports could not be independently verified. “Our revolution is strong! Assad has lost legitimacy!” protesters chanted in the Damascus suburb of Zabadani, according to video posted on YouTube. Another showed protesters chanting: “Oh Bashar, you coward, pack your bags and go to Iran.” The military crackdown has failed to silence a pro-democracy
movement that has now lasted more than 100 days. The Syrian opposition says 1,400 people have been killed in the continuing government crackdown. In northern Syria, activists said at least 15,000 people held a protest on the highway linking the country’s two main cities, Damascus and Aleppo. Thousands marched in Amouda and Qamishli in the northeast and in other provinces, Osso said. Dissidents reported a strong security presence in many locations. In Homs, all roads leading to the city center were reported blocked. An eyewitness in Homs said protests took place in every city district yesterday. He said hundreds of security personnel had been brought in by bus since early morning and encircled the city’s center. The witness said security forces fired smoke grenades in the Jouret Al-Shiyeh district to disperse protesters. He said pro-government thugs converged on Homs neighborhoods from neighboring villages and were “provoking” protesters, who began blocking roads with rocks to keep them back. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. In the central city of Hama, activists said a massive protest took place in the city’s main Assi square. Online footage showed huge numbers of people gathered, many waving Syrian flags and crying for the regime’s downfall. A large purple banner was unfurled over a building, reading: “Long live free Syria, down with Bashar Assad.” The video and other reports from inside Syria could not be independently verified, since the Damascus government has banned all but a few foreign journalists and restricted local media’s reporting. — AP