Youth groups to protest in Kuwait
Protesters urging the prime minister to step down plan to hold unauthorised action in oil-rich Gulf state.
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| A number of small protests have been held in Kuwait in recent months amid ongoing unrest in the Middle East [File EPA] |
Youth groups in Kuwait are planning to hold demonstrations calling for the resignation of the prime minister, and for greater political freedoms.
A group called the Fifth Fence has urged followers on the social networking site Twitter to take to the streets on Tuesday as parliament holds its first session in six weeks.
They are urging Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the prime minister, to step down, after five years in power.
The al-Sabah family has ruled the small Gulf state for more than 250 years, and political parties are banned.
“The first step toward reform is forming a new government under a new prime minister that should be capable of running the country and reforming imbalances,” the nationalist Popular Action Bloc said in a statement last week.
However demonstrations are banned in Kuwait without prior approval, which has not been gained for Tuesday’s action.
The demonstration comes as protests across the Middle East and Arab states continue.
Kuwait has already seen some protests from stateless Arabs, known as bidoon, who are demanding citizenship.
Politicians have promised to discuss a draft law in parliament on Tuesday that would grant them basic civil rights