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Kuwait City: Two Kuwaiti lawmakers who sparked a national outcry for eulogising slain Hezbollah commander Emad Mughnieh have said that his alleged hijacking of a Kuwait Airways flight in 1988 was an "abominable crime."
The statement by Adnan Abdul Samad and Ahmad Lari was meant to mitigate intense domestic criticism they have faced, but it fell short of the apology many of their fellow citizens demanded.
The two Shiite lawmakers were expelled by their parliamentary bloc on Wednesday for participating in a ceremony eulogising Mughnieh, a senior fighter from the Shiite Hezbollah group who was killed in a February 12 car bombing in Syria. Kuwait blames Mughnieh for the 1988 airline hijacking and for the death of two of the plane's passengers.
Abdul Samad and Lari said on Friday that their only allegiance was to their country but criticised the public response to the eulogy as part of a 'rabid campaign' against the lawmakers, who remain members of parliament. "The reaction to the eulogy was exaggerated," the statement said.
In April 1988, gunmen hijacked the jumbo jet en route from Thailand to Kuwait City. They diverted it to Iran, Cyprus and Algeria, demanding Kuwait free 17 pro-Iranian fighters jailed for attacks in Kuwait. After a 16-day ordeal and the murder of two Kuwaiti passengers, hijackers freed the hostages and were allowed to leave Algiers.
Kuwait is predominantly Sunni. Shiites account for some 30 per cent of its 1 million citizens. The state has witnessed sectarian tensions over the circulation of tapes and books seen as insulting to Shiites, but there has been no violence.
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