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Independence, Liberation Celebrations Not Provocative to Iraq: Kuwait
Kuwait said on Monday that the celebration of its 40th Independence Day and the 10th anniversary of its liberation from Iraqi occupation was not a provocation to Iraq.
Kuwaiti Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Ahmad al- Sabah said that Kuwait did not interfere in Iraqi internal affairs and Baghdad should refrain from meddling in Kuwaiti affairs.
Sheikh Ahmad made the remarks at the media center set up here for the press covering the festivities, in response to the Iraqi accusation of the celebrations as "provocative."
Iraq's Deputy Information Minister Hamid Said on Sunday accused Kuwait of provocation for celebrating "U.S. occupation" and warned of the risks of an "explosion" in the region.
Hamid Said said that the festivities, coinciding with the recent U.S.-British air raids against Baghdad, "marked an escalation against Iraq because of its support for the Palestinian intifada," adding that "such an escalation threatens an explosion."
In response, the Kuwaiti official, however, said that Kuwait was "celebrating inside its territories and not interfering" in Iraqi affairs.
Sheikh Ahmad also recalled statements made by Uday, the eldest son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in which he still claimed Kuwait as part of Iraq. Sheikh Ahmad described the remarks as " negative initiative in a bid to threaten Kuwait."
The two-day celebrations starting on Sunday staged a popular march along the seaside road in the capital Kuwait City on Monday.
Kuwaitis and some expatriates living in Kuwait took part in the parade which depicts Kuwait's achievements in various fields since its independence in 1961.
A number of government officials and parliament members attended the start of the three-kilometer march.
Acting Parliament Speaker Mishari al-Anjari, who led the parade, said that amid the celebrations, "the happiness is not complete as Kuwaiti detainees are still held in Iraq."
But Iraq denied it holds any Kuwaiti nationals.
Al-Anjari also recalled events which happened at the end of Gulf War on February 26, 1991, when Iraqi troops "destroyed Kuwaiti sites and torched government buildings, museums, hotels as well as oil wells."
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