Third suspect arrested – MPs keep up pressure – Lawyer files case against embassy

KUWAIT: Kuwait has taken effective measures in response to “incendiary remarks” made by the Filipino ambassador to the state, Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said yesterday. Kuwait has taken umbrage at the Filipino envoy’s comments as well as “questionable conduct” on the part of Manila’s diplomatic staff in the country, the foreign minister told the Cabinet in its weekly meeting. He stressed that the actions have been deemed a threat to Kuwait’s sovereignty, a country that prides itself on its immaculate human rights record.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah informed the executive body that the interior ministry has taken action in this regard as well. Kuwait had summoned the Philippines’ ambassador twice last week in protest over “inflammatory comments” he made to a local newspaper. Relations between Kuwait and the Philippines have been tense since the body of a Filipina worker was found in a freezer in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti authorities have identified and arrested three Filipino suspects who are believed to have helped a Filipina housemaid to escape from her sponsor’s home. One of the suspects was arrested yesterday, the interior ministry said. Two cars, seen in a viral video showing some people helping Filipino domestic helpers escape from their employers’ households, have also been seized in a crackdown, the ministry said in a press statement. The suspect admitted that he had urged Filipino domestic workers to quit their work, it added. Two other Filipinos were arrested on Sunday.

Informed sources predicted that MP Al-Humaidi Al-Subaiei will file a grilling motion against FM Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled unless serious measures are taken against the Philippine Embassy. The sources expected the motion to be filed after the next parliamentary session. MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei also called for measures to be taken against the Philippines, starting by recalling Kuwait’s ambassador in Manila and all embassy staff, in addition to gradual measures against the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, declaring the ambassador persona non grata and expelling diplomatic staff.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah said Kuwait is dealing with the undiplomatic statements and actions of the Philippine Embassy according to gradual measures that will accelerate according to the violations committed against Kuwaiti laws and sovereignty, “which are unacceptable”. Jarallah said the foreign ministry had given the embassy a three-day grace period to hand over the suspects involved in helping the maids escape to avoid forcing the ambassador to leave.

“Manila’s and the ambassador’s persistence on using such statements unfortunately makes us go further on taking measures to face the situation,” he said, noting that when summoned to the ministry, the ambassador said his statements had been misunderstood. Jarallah denied that the foreign ministry discussed severing diplomatic relations. “We only stressed that Kuwait will take measures to protect its sovereignty, which is a red line,” he said, adding that a Kuwaiti delegation had been sent to the Philippines to discuss a labor agreement.

Separately, a Kuwaiti lawyer yesterday filed a case against members of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, accusing them of violating Kuwait’s penal law as well as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The lawyer also filed another case at the administrative court demanding mandating the foreign minister to take proper measures against the ambassador and consider him persona non grata in Kuwait.

By A Saleh, Meshaal Al-Enezi and Agencies