Kuwait's Media Platform and Voice of Reassurance During the Aggressive Iraqi Invasion

(Kuwait News Report) Kuwait, 6 Oct (KUNA) -- During the brutal Iraqi invasion of the country on August 2, 1990, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) played a pivotal role in the struggle for existence and liberation, supporting legitimacy, reassuring citizens, winning over global public opinion, exposing the falsehoods of the invading regime’s media claims, and revealing its practices within the country.

On the morning of that day, invading forces entered KUNA’s headquarters, wreaking havoc and destruction, and looted its contents and equipment, transporting them to Iraq. They also burned and destroyed heavy materials and tools that could not be easily moved or were of no use to the occupiers.

With the suspension of operations at the main headquarters, the agency’s management, represented by Director General Barjas Al-Barjas, swiftly decided to begin broadcasting from KUNA’s office in the British capital, London, after summoning several staff members who were abroad at the time. Three days after the Iraqi occupation, KUNA issued an urgent statement from its London office to all Arab and international news agencies, announcing that the headquarters had temporarily relocated to London, from where the agency would continue its news broadcasting and activities.

KUNA’s foreign offices and correspondents worldwide received telegrams confirming that the agency was continuing to raise Kuwait’s voice high on media platforms and defend its just cause. They were urged to carry out their normal duties and provide KUNA with standard news coverage, particularly regarding developments related to the Iraqi invasion.

The London office began broadcasting using a single fax machine to receive and send news. Within 21 days, KUNA successfully connected its foreign offices and correspondents to its London headquarters via a network of fax machines, with technical coordination and support provided by sister states, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as several news agencies in friendly countries.

On August 10, KUNA resumed its transmissions, with its first news item focusing on the most prominent event at the time: the conclusion of the emergency Arab Summit held in Cairo, where most participating countries condemned the Iraqi aggression and rejected the unjust decision to annex Kuwait.

The period from August 2 to October 12, 1990, marked an important phase in KUNA’s history during the Iraqi occupation. The agency intensified its efforts to maintain constant communication with the legitimate Kuwaiti government in Taif, rebuild its organizational structure, and coordinate with news agencies in several sister and friendly nations. KUNA’s media message at that time focused on several key issues, including documenting the heroism of the national resistance inside Kuwait, highlighting popular resilience against the oppression and occupation machinery, and covering the efforts and activities of the legitimate government in Taif.

The agency also focused on the political and social activities of Kuwaiti communities in various Arab and global capitals, garnering support for Kuwait’s just cause and mobilizing international backing and pro-resistance stances. KUNA broadcast the first official statement issued by the legitimate Kuwaiti government in Taif from its London office, distributing it via fax to more than 50 Arab and international media and political entities.

To bolster its media message, KUNA utilized historical documentation, publishing two important documentary books in December 1990 that addressed the ordeal of the Iraqi invasion and the violations committed by Iraqi forces in the country: "Betrayal" and "Mother of Crimes Against Kuwait," both printed in Beirut.

The agency also sought to open direct communication channels with major global news agencies to rally support for Kuwait’s just cause. It signed a significant agreement with the two Soviet news agencies, TASS and Novosti, stipulating the distribution of KUNA bulletins in Soviet republics and Eastern European countries.

KUNA planned to launch its official transmissions to coincide with a major national event: the convening of the Kuwaiti People’s Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on October 13, 1990. The agency became the platform conveying the greatest national unity witnessed during that period and the voice representing the country’s legitimate leadership and entrenched national unity.

KUNA’s broadcast began at 12:00 noon Kuwait time, aligning with the opening session of the People’s Conference. This historic event became the first and most prominent news item in the agency’s new format. KUNA then became a primary source for providing Arab and international news agencies with conference news, distributing the full text of the speeches by His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah; His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah; and the Conference President, Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Saqer.

At the beginning of its bulletin that day, KUNA broadcast a historic statement expressing its new launch, stating: "The Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) greets you from its temporary headquarters and resumes its regular transmissions, which were disrupted by the fierce Iraqi attack on our small homeland on August 2 last year, but failed to stop them."

The agency added that it would not remain in its temporary headquarters "except as it has accustomed its subscribers, being in its main headquarters, truthful in its reporting, objective in its analyses, and a voice above all for the Kuwaiti and Arab right, and a platform for the honest pen and honorable word... We pledge to God and to everyone that its voice will continue to thunder in defense of principles until it returns to the embrace of the motherland after its liberation from the clutches of tyrants."

Based on the priorities, constants, and sovereign positions resulting from the final statement of the Jeddah People’s Conference, KUNA restructured its news policy directed at the world. Its editorial plan focused on several key pillars, including the absolute rejection and condemnation of occupation, rallying ranks, national unity, and no compromise on sovereignty.

With the launch of the air operations of Operation Desert Storm to repel the Iraqi occupation on January 17, 1991, KUNA achieved a global media milestone by beating international media outlets in broadcasting the first news of the start of the air war with a brief five-word message: "The air strike to liberate Kuwait has begun."

The following day, the agency broadcast the historic speech by Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah addressed to citizens inside the country, in which he said: "I bring you good news and encourage you, for the hour of deliverance is near, and the sun of freedom and dignity will soon rise over the land of our beloved homeland, dispelling the darkness of occupation and betrayal forever." He added, "Kuwait is returning, with God’s help and grace, with its legitimacy and its people with their freedom and sovereignty. Together, we will rebuild what the aggression destroyed and restore Kuwait’s security and prosperity, so it may always remain a house of honor and safety."

Before midnight on February 23, 1991, a KUNA correspondent on the Kuwaiti-Saudi border reported, citing responsible military sources, that "international coalition forces managed to breach border fortifications and penetrate deep into Kuwaiti territory, reaching areas close to Al-Wafra city."

Following the liberation of the country, the agency’s main building in the Watya complex in Kuwait City was in a state of utter chaos resulting from organized looting and theft, involving the theft of essential equipment and devices. The direct financial losses incurred by the agency were estimated at approximately $16 million USD.

However, the heavy loss suffered by KUNA was not merely financial or technical; it was also a media, cultural, and historical loss that could not be compensated. This loss consisted of the destruction of the Information Center and Archive, which had been built over 13 years to become one of the largest and most modern information centers in the Gulf region and the Middle East.

This systematic destruction was a deliberate act aimed at retaliating against a media institution that had earned the trust and respect of the world for its commitment to credibility, objectivity, integrity, and support for just Arab and humanitarian causes. (End) A.B.D