Thousands Protest for Reform in Kuwait, Dozens Arrested

Thousands of Kuwaitis rallied and called for a change of government and the dissolution of parliament after the Emir Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah ruled out dissolving the body or seeking the resignation of the prime minister. “We have come here to demand changing the government. This is part of our constitutional rights,” lawyer Osama al-Shaheen told the estimated crowd of 15,000 people in Kuwait City. Meanwhile, Kuwait’s public prosecutor ordered the arrest 45 people accused of involvement in the storming of the parliament building during an anti-government protest last week. Those arrested did not include lawmakers who took part in the protest, as the “lawmakers will will be dealt with separately,” one source told Reuters. The Emir labeled the storming of the parliament as a “black day.”

Isabel Coles and Eman Goma suggest that Kuwait’s protests have brought “just a taste of the Arab Spring” to the country. Analysts say approximately 26 of the 50 elected members of parliament oppose the prime minister, but the 15 appointed cabinet ministers support the PM, “giving him an overall majority in parliament.” One opposition member has said “Our spring is completely different. The Arab Spring is directed against the regimes. Our spring is directed against the prime minister and corruption, but we are devoted to the system of governance in Kuwait,” he said.