KUWAIT, 14 November 2004 — Threatened with impeachment by the National Assembly (parliament), Kuwait’s Minister of Information Muhammad Abol-Hassan has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Ahmad Al Jaber, it was officially confirmed yesterday.

Abol-Hassan faced a storm of protests from the Parliament and the press when the state-owned television broadcast a documentary about the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last week. In it Arafat was described as a hero, a combatant for faith, and a martyr.

Many Kuwaitis, however, regard Arafat as a treacherous opportunist who, having received vast sums of money from Kuwait, supported Saddam Hussein’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait in 1990.

Members of Parliament published an open letter last week calling for Abol-Hassan’s impeachment. His resignation appears to be a pre-emptive measure designed to prevent a debate in the Parliament. A minister who has resigned traditionally stays away from parliamentary sessions until the prime minister decides his fate.

Abol-Hassan’s critics say his resignation is a maneuver to avoid impeachment, and that he has already agreed with the prime minister that he should be reinstated once the storm blows over.

“Arafat was a traitor to the Palestinian and the Arab peoples in general,” says Parliament member Muhammad Barrak-Matir. “It is a shame that our national television should describe the traitor as a hero and a combatant.”

In a further effort to calm things down Abol-Hassan went on television to apologize to the Kuwait people.

He said he understood the pain felt by Kuwaitis who saw Arafat described as a hero whereas they knew he had been an enemy of Kuwait and of the Arab nation. He said the television had made an unintentional error.

“We never wanted to deceive our people into believing that Arafat was a hero or a genuine combatant,” he said. “The people of Kuwait know who Yasser Arafat was. And the world will, in time, also find out the truth.”

The apology had been demanded by Member of Parliament Muhammad Al-Khalifa who called on the government to issue an apology to the Kuwaiti people for “the unwarranted praise” bestowed on Arafat.

“Arafat was a man who sided with the criminal Saddam Hussein in his invasion and annexation of Kuwait in 1990,” Al-Khalifa said. “ The Kuwaiti people will never forget Arafat’s treachery.”

Ahmad Al-Bassiri, another parliamentarian, says the program that paid tribute to Arafat must be seen as a deliberate insult to our national heroes and martyrs who gave their life fighting the Iraqi invasion.

“How can we forget how Arafat betrayed the Arab nation by siding with Saddam Hussein in raping and plundering our country?” he asks.

Kuwaiti newspapers have been publishing file photos showing Arafat alongside with the deposed Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein.

They have also run editorials and op-ed pieces condemning the television and describing Arafat as a mercenary, who was interested in nothing but money, position and fame.

The daily newspaper Al Watan lashed out against the minister and television for their alleged “ blindness to the true nature of Yasser Arafat.”

“Are we going to see Uday (eldest son of Saddam Hussein) also described as a hero and a martyr rather than a criminal?” the article asked.

“We have a minister who washes and dresses,” the article said. “He allows our television to describe Arafat as teacher, symbol, martyr, combatant. He seems to be struck by sadness with the passing of Arafat.

A spokesman for the Kuwaiti television said the reportage on Arafat had been part of a package purchased from a European television group and did not reflect the editorial views of the Kuwaiti channel.

“The program was translated and ran in a hurry,” a spokesman said. “The assertion in the program that Arafat was a hero and a combatant does not reflect our views.”

Kuwait was the only Arab country not to send a delegation to attend Arafat’s funeral in Cairo on Friday.