Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The appointment of Dr. Ghadeer Asiri as Minister of Social Affairs in Kuwait has sparked widespread controversy among activists in Kuwait and Bahrain over her views on the events in Bahrain in 2011 and the intervention of the Peninsula Shield Force.

Twitter users retweeted an old tweet by Dr. Asiri in which she criticized the of Peninsula Shield Force's intervention in Bahrain to quell peaceful protests. "Opposition" Kuwaiti MPs considered appointing her as a minister a mistake. They also threatened to question the Prime Minister if Asiri is appointed as a minister.

Criticism from Opposition MPs in Kuwait, Tweeters Recall Samira Rajab

Radical Salafist Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi deemed appointing Asiri as a minister a blatant mistake, calling on the head of government to correct the mistake before she takes the oath.

Hayef attached his tweet with a photo of Asiri's tweet and addressed the new Prime Minister saying "If you don't know, this is a disaster and if you know, the calamity is greater. After appointing someone who tells the Peninsula Shield to go out, our brother, the Prime Minister didn't leave us [a choice] but to say, either the minister of the Bahraini leaves or he does."

For his part, MP Mohammed Al-Mutair, an opposition MP, called on the Prime Minister, via his Twitter account, to defuse the crisis before the oath session, threatening to question the Prime Minister in case the mentioned minister takes the oath, in reference to Dr. Ghadeer Asiri.

In the same context, Muslim Brotherhood MP Osama Al-Shaheen deemed Dr. Asiri's statements go against Islamic and national principles and said that appointing her as a minister leads to provocation rather than stability.

Salafist opposition MP Adel Al-Damkhi also asked about the message the Kuwaiti government wants to send to the gulf behind appointing Asiri as a minister. "Is this compatible with the Kuwaiti approach in consolidating rapprochement and reunification?" he wondered.

Dr. Reem Al-Asoussi defended the appointment of Asiri and said "If we look at each others' tweets in 2011, everyone would be surprised. Some supported groups that turned out to be terrorists like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, and there are those who applauded violence and blood in the demonstrations. Some were humane and some were sectarian. People who went to the Pearl Roundabout have become ministers and MPs in Bahrain and friends of Erdogan, your ally, have become allies to Russia and Iran."

Khaled Al-Hjraf responded to those who are saying that appointing Asiri as a minister would harm relations with the sisterly state saying that "if we consider her opinion as an insult, our brothers have already honoured those who insulted Kuwait."

Samira Rajab (Minister of Information Affairs in Bahrain)

Turki Al-Shaikh (Saudi Arabia)

He attached his tweet with a picture of Samira Rajab standing in the mourning procession of Saddam Hussein, who invaded Kuwait, as well as a tweet by Turki Al-Shaikh, an adviser in the Royal Court, saying that Kuwait is the 19th province of Iraq and not an independent state.

Faisal Al-Shaya raised another point saying that Asiri's opinion regarding the intervention of Peninsula Shield in an internal affair is similar to that of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad and to that of the former opposition MP Dr. Obaid Al-Wasimi.

Al-Shaya attached his tweets with a video if the Emir of Kuwait (the Foreign Minister back then) confirming that the Peninsula Shield Force was not created to interfere in the internal affairs of states. He also attached his tweet with a series of tweets by former MP Obaid Al-Wasimi, who rejected the intervention of the Peninsula Shield in Bahrain.

Bahraini MP Calls against Appointing Asiri as Minister, Tweeters Ask him not to Interfere in Internal Affairs of Sisterly State

MP Ibrahim Al-Nafei demanded the political leadership in Kuwait to "reconsider the appointment of Ghadeer Asiri, who represents a sharp stake against Bahrain and the entire Gulf system."

Author Jaafar Al-Jamri responded to Al-Nafei asking "how do you have the right to interfere in the affairs of a sisterly country when you refuse interference in our affairs?!"

Author Ibrahim Al-Manai reminded Al-Nafei who objected to the appointment of Asiri in Kuwait, that he has just defended the government against the intervention of MP Zainab Abdulamir, who addressed the appointment of some ministers under the pretext of "respecting the royal will," asking "why isn't he now respecting the princely will of the Emir of Kuwait?"

Journalist Adel Marzooq addressed those, in Bahrain and Kuwait, who are discontent with appointing Asiri as a minister and reminded them that they remained silent when Samira Rajab was appointed, noting that she defended Saddam Hussein wherever she went. Marzooq wondered how these people are attacking Asiri because of a tweet against the Peninsula Shield.

Marzooq noted that the Emir of Kuwait had reservations about the entry of the Peninsula Shield to Bahrain and only participated in a symbolic way.

Arabic Version