KUWAIT CITY: The National Committee for Missing and POWs Affairs (NCMPA) Monday telephoned 149 Kuwaiti families of POWs to inform them of the death of their children who were captured by Iraqi forces during the 1990-1991 occupation of Kuwait. Sources said NCMPA reached this decision after going over Iraqi documents which indicate these POWs have been martyred. A number of POWs families gathered in front of the Civil Defence Department in South Surra late Monday to express their dismay over NCMPA's incompetence in dealing with the POWs issue and obstructing the search efforts of the team.
Deputy chairman of a society representing the families of POWs and member of a team in charge of searching POWs in Iraq, Medweh Al-Mutairi strongly criticised the manner NCMPA has been dealing with the issue. He added NCMPA should not have relied on a mere document bearing the names of some Kuwaiti POWs who have been executed by the Iraqi regime in Iraq. "Informing the families of POWs of the martyrdom of their children in this manner without relying on DNA results was not right because it instigated anger among the families and aggravated their suffering," Al-Mutairi told the Arab Times Monday. Al-Mutairi called on NCMPA to apologise to POW families because they informed them of the death of their children without relying on material proof. Al-Mutairi revealed the NCMPA has signed a protocol with the Tripartite Committee, which includes representatives from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the Red Cross and allied forces. He added the protocol prohibits any side from exhuming any grave without prior approval of NCMPA. Al-Mutairi said this protocol obstructs the search for POWs and stops the team from continuing its duties at a fast pace, which lead to the finding of the remains of martyr Saad Al-Enezi. Al-Mutairi said Dr Ibrahim Al-Aqeedi, who represents the Iraqi side on the Tripartite Committee, possesses information on the fate of Kuwaiti POWs but he refuses to give out this information until a new Iraqi government is formed, "which is the reason Al-Aqeedi was appointed as a member of the Tripartite Committee."
| Seems thin ground for recrimination to me. If the names of the poor guys are on the lists of those slaughtered, presumably they were slaughtered. Next step should be finding where they were buried. Any that got on the lists through mistake, who might still be alive (where?) and show up later will be gifts from God. I don't think there will be any. |
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