Two moves by the government in less than a week show what Kuwaiti democracy is all about, reports Sherine Bahaa On 8 December, Kuwaiti police elite forces used batons to beat up their MPs gathering outside one of their leaders homes to discuss their country's policies. No sign of protest by the MPs; no demo, no petition -- just talk, but because they went out of the building to sit in the garden, they did something that according to the Kuwait Constitution is wrong. The Kuwaiti government had announced that gatherings were banned outside local meeting halls, known as diwaniyas, such as the villa where the gathering took place. The undersecretary for public security affairs, Major General Khalil Al-Shamali, said in comments published on the state news agency Kuna last week that large numbers were seen sitting on the grass outside the villa, while many of the seats inside the building were empty. A valid point, and to make it sound worse, Al-Shamali added that the clash with "the attackers" took place outside the building. More than 10 participants, including four lawmakers, were injured in the clashes. "We realised that the organisers were just procrastinating and deliberately breaching the laws. The dispute heated up when the attendees started swearing at us and throwing empty bottles," Al-Shamali added. This done and reported, Kuwaiti authorities took a decision yesterday to close office of Al-Jazeera, the Qatar- based satellite news channel and withdrew the accreditation of its crew. The pan-Arab news channel had aired extensive footage of the skirmish. The Kuwaiti government accused Al-Jazeera of meddling in Kuwait's domestic affairs and breaking a reporting ban, according to the state news agency. Kuwait's sensitivity over the coverage point to the fragility of its limited steps to open its political scene. Doubtless to say, a major political crisis is brewing in the tiny emirate that sits atop 10 per cent of the world's proven oil reserves. On Monday, three opposition MPs representing the Popular Action Bloc, the Reform and Development Bloc and the National Bloc filed a motion to question the prime minister in parliament over the police crackdown. The opposition held Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohamed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, a senior member of the Al-Sabah ruling family, responsible for the incident. The lawmakers, Mussallam Al-Barrak, Jamaan Al-Harbash and Saleh Al-Mulla, represent the three main opposition groups in the Kuwaiti parliament and are backed by at least 17 other MPs. "Today we filed a motion to grill the prime minister for breaching the constitution and for undermining public freedoms," Al-Barrak, whose interview triggered the closure of Al-Jazeera, told a press conference after submitting the motion to the parliamentary speaker. Al-Barrak accused the government of creating the latest standoff with parliament by attempting to stifle freedom of speech and expression. "The government today is not just taking action against those who speak, but also against those who listen to speeches," said Al-Barrak, referring to the police action against those attending the rally. The speaker of the house, Jassem Al-Kharafi, said the question will be on parliament's agenda on 28 December. He called the police crackdown a "barbaric attack with batons" and said that police attacked "members of parliament who were trying to calm the situation down". However, in an attempt to defend his prime ministerial nephew, the Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah told the editors-in-chief of local newspapers at the ruler's court in Seif Palace that the incident was not the fault of the police special forces, who were applying the law. "I am the one responsible for the police action and they [the opposition] can ask me instead of questioning the prime minister or others," the emir was cited as saying. The right to questioning ministers is in Kuwait's constitution, which no other Gulf country dares, but, until recently, challenging the prime minister was a red line the MPs would not cross. Sheikh Nasser was the first leader of the cabinet to be questioned by MPs, behind closed doors, last year over a check issued to a former MP. He retained the support of the house. It is the same old story in Kuwait. The grilling process could lead to a motion of non-cooperation with the government which requires the signature of 10 MPs. To pass, the motion of non-cooperation requires the support of 25 elected MPs. The 16 Cabinet ministers are not allowed to vote on such a motion, and there are 15 members appointed by the palace. So this charade becomes an exercise in futility, given Kuwait has a 50-member parliament. If the motion by some miracle is passed, the issue is then sent to the emir who can either dismiss the prime minister or dissolve parliament and call for snap elections, according to the Kuwaiti law. Nonetheless, the latest motion to question the Kuwait premier is the eighth since he was appointed to the post in February 2008. The process has merely frozen the political process, stalling much needed economic reform.
