Sep 17 Others

Kuwait: Protesters urge multi-party rule ACCOUNT FOR PUBLIC FUNDS … RESIGN, RALLY TELLS GOVERNMENT
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/173867/reftab/36/t/Protesters-urge-multi-party-rule/Default.aspx

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 16: Hundreds of Kuwaitis rallied Friday demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected government, as Kuwait battles with an unprecedented corruption scandal involving MPs.
Holding banners calling for fundamental reforms, including appointing a prime minister from outside the Al-Sabah ruling family, the protesters also chanted slogans urging the dismissal of the prime minister and dissolving parliament.

"The people want to topple the prime minister" — Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a nephew of the Amir — chanted the mostly young protesters in the demonstration dubbed as "the people's day."
Protesters called for dissolving parliament after the public prosecution last week launched a probe into bank accounts of at least nine MPs in the 50-member house for alleged illegal deposits.

Local media and opposition MPs claimed the funds, estimated at around $350 million (252 million euros), were given to MPs in exchange for voting on key issues in parliament, including grillings of ministers.
Kuwait has been little affected by the so-called Arab Spring that has already toppled three leaders, but opposition Islamist MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei warned that this could come.

"The breeze of the Arab Spring is blowing on Kuwait but not to topple the regime, only to reform it," Tabtabaei told a gathering Tuesday night.

On Thursday, the state minister for cabinet affairs and government spokesman Ali al-Rashed, in an interview with Al-Rai television, accused those who call for a Kuwaiti Spring as "traitors who aim at toppling the regime."

Youth activists have also called for deep reforms to legalise political parties and have a popular government.
"These proposals aim to transfer Kuwait from the family state into the state of the people ... This is a popular demand and the authority must look seriously into it," one of the organisers told the crowd.

Under the proposed reform, the Al-Sabah family would still have the Amir and Crown Prince as stipulated by the 1962 constitution, but the post of the prime minister would go to the people.

The family remains in control of most key cabinet posts, including the premiership and the so-called sovereign ministries of defence, interior and foreign affairs.
Kuwait has been rocked by a series of political disputes over the past five years, stalling development plans despite abundant financial surpluses amounting to $300 billion.
No Shia, no Sunni, One nation, one people and government elected by the people, were other slogans chanted by the protesters amidst tight security, in front of the Kuwait City Municipality building.
The rally was attended by notables like Khalid Al-Fadallah, Zaid Al-Zaid as well as Member of Parliament Mubarak Al-Walaan. While calling for deep reforms in government, MP Walaan said corruption is eating into the fabric of government and the best thing is for the government to resign, parliament dissolved and popular elections held for the selection of the prime minister and the National Assembly.

A youth activist Hamad Al-Olyan in an interview said too much money is being wasted with no new development taking place in Kuwait. He alleged that monies are being dished out to MPs by the prime minister as bribe for their support for his continued stay in power, adding that those monies could have been put to better use in the expansion of healthcare and education for the people, as those sectors-education and health have not seen any new development in a long time. "So we want the prime minister to resign immediately and be replaced by someone else, but our ultimate aim is to have that position elected by the people of Kuwait".

There were others among the protesters like Khalid Al-Mulaifi, who apart from the common demand they all held calling for the dissolution of parliament and government, demanded an equal share of the national cake for all citizens as well as hold to account those found to be plundering the national wealth.

Ummu Abdullah was worried about the health minister getting his priorities misplaced, when he sanctioned the evacuation of wounded foreigners into Kuwait to be flown out to Europe for medical attention at the state's expense. Another issue she complained about was the alleged stagnation in development in the country, citing the inadequate hospitals as well as one university serving the entire country. "It's a shame that Kuwaitis are suffering from chronic illnesses without any proper healthcare in place", she said.
The protesters, whose attempt to take their march to the street got thwarted by the strong security presence, dispersed with a decision to meet again at a later date.