Verbal Iraqi- Kuwaiti row at Inter-Parliamentary Union conference

A new verbal row took place on Wednesday between an Iraqi parliamentarian and a Kuwaiti parliamentarian during a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union conference to discuss the questions of refugees and illegal migration.

The row started when Kuwaiti parliament member Mubarak al-Kharbik said in his intervention that there are more than "4 million Iraqi refugees who fled from their country from fears of the ruling regime." He added that, "During the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the Kuwaitis knew well the sufferings of refugees after they were forced to leave their homes and properties."

Iraqi parliament member Jalil al-Obeidi replied to al-Kharbik's statements by saying that they are mere "allegations" and considered the "Kuwaiti government as a government from the Middle Ages and as non-democratic" as it does not give "the woman in Kuwait the right to vote" in elections in contrary to the situation in Iraq where women are given their due rights.

The Kuwaiti parliamentarian commented on al-Obeidi's statement by considering that refusing a draft bill in Kuwait is an evidence of "democracy in Kuwait," adding, "But in Iraq if the parliament refuses a draft bill proposed by the Iraqi president, I am confident and quite sure no one parliament member will be kept alive."