m********y
发帖数: 21909 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 Military 讨论区 】
发信人: cashback (bing), 信区: Military
标 题: 科威特也上街了
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Tue Mar 8 17:40:18 2011, 美东)
Kuwait protesters bring reform demands to streets
(AP) – 7 hours ago
KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Hundreds protested outside Kuwait's main government
building Tuesday to demand sweeping changes on how the oil-rich country is
run as another Gulf state joined the surge for reforms around the Arab world.
Security forces stood by as more than 400 demonstrators moved into an area
outside a building holding key offices including Kuwait's emir and the prime
minister, who is accused by pro-reform groups of stifling political
freedoms and muzzling dissent.
The initial crowd was limited, but protest organizers had to switch venues
after police blockaded the central Safat Square in Kuwait City.
Although the protests mark the first in Kuwait since the stunning Arab
uprisings, the oil-rich Gulf nation is no stranger to political showdowns.
Kuwait has the region's most powerful parliament and opposition lawmakers
have waged open battles against the ruling system, including nearly bringing
down the prime minister two times with no-confidence votes.
One of the protest slogans: "Leave! We Deserve Better!" Others waved banners
saying "New country with a new prime minister."
The planned rallies were timed to dovetail with the return of parliament
from a nearly monthlong recess.
One of the first acts was the swearing-in of the new interior minister,
whose predecessor was dismissed in January following an uproar when a
suspect accused of illegal liquor sales was beaten to death in police
custody.
But the main target of Kuwait's opposition remains the prime minister, Sheik
Nasser Al Mohammed Al Sabah, a nephew of Kuwait's emir. Protesters also
seek to break the exclusive grip on power by the ruling family, which holds
all major government posts and controls the oil riches in the world's fourth
-largest producer.
But there are no calls to challenge the standing of the emir, Sheik Sabah Al
Ahmed Al Sabah.
One of the protest organizers, Hamid al-Olayan, said forcing a total
government overhaul was the ultimate objective.
"All of us have just one slogan: a new Cabinet and a new prime minister," he
said.
The Gulf is already gripped by unprecedented political unrest.
Bahrain's monarchy has been hit by more than three weeks of protests and
clashes. Smaller protests have flared in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Last month, police in Kuwait used tear gas to disperse protests by
descendants of desert nomads demanding Kuwait citizenship and the generous
state benefits that come with it.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
|
