National Days celebrations include military parade Kuwaiti

Kuwaitis continue celebrating the country's 53rd independence anniversary and its 23rd liberation anniversary as well as the eighth year of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's proclamation as the State Amir. Public locations, squares, streets, state buildings have been adorned with the National Flag, while the citizens have attended and taken part in carnivals and ceremonies in the state various governorates. A major military parade was held at the location of the old airport, located near Darwazah Al-Shaab. Old Kuwait was surrounded by a fence with several darwazahs (doorways). Some of the these old wooden gates have been preserved till now. The parade, involving units from the armed forces and the police, was organized to bring to live the memorable key address by the late Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Kuwait's 11th ruler, at a ceremony held at the same site on June 19, 1962, where His Highness marked the first anniversary of the National Day, and vowed to secure prosperity and justice for the citizens. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem, who ruled between 1950 and 1965, also pledged to coordinate closely with Arab states and adopt an international non-aligned policy as well as abide by UN human rights conventions. Kuwait won its independence during Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem's era, on June 19, 1961. A British-Kuwaiti protection accord dating back to January 23, 1899, was repealed, thus Kuwait proclaimed its full independence. Since 1963, the Kuwaitis have chosen February 25 to mark Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem's assumption to power, as the day to celebrate the National Independence or the National Day, in addition to the 26th of the same month to celebrate the liberation from the Iraqi occupation in 1991. The natives recall on these occasions struggle of the ancestors and their success in overcoming diverse hardships in the pre-oil times. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in a statement on January 29, 2008, lauded the Kuwaitis for following steps of the ancestors in staying united and sincerely struggling for service of the homeland.