Thousands protest in Kuwait for 'fight against corruption'

Kuwaitis came out in protest against government corruption on Tuesday evening, with more than 6,000 people taking to the streets demanding improved services and increased transparency in government.

Over the past year, parliamentarians and opposition leaders have become increasingly critical of what they views as rife corruption amongst the country's leaders.

The rally at al-Irada Square in Kuwait City was convened by prominent opposition leader and former parliamentarian Musallam al-Barrack, who made a speech urging people to stand up against alleged government corruption.

"We've had enough of this and it's time to fight corruption. The real fight against corruption starts now, right after this speech rally tonight. We won't allow corrupt people to continue robbing the country," al-Barrack said.

The crowd chanted in response: "the people demand to cleanse the judiciary".

Barrack long posed a challenge to the Sabah royal family, who have ruled Kuwait since the 18^th century. He was convicted last year of insulting the emir during a speech made in October 2012 when he lambasted the ruler as an autocrat.

He is now calling for the government to allow citizens to run for prime minister, a position currently filled by a member of the royal family appointed by the emir.

It appears that Barrack is risking arrest again, as during his speech on Tuesday evening, he accused the royal family of running an autocracy lacking accountability while calling for “complete reform” of the judiciary.

Kuwait may have the most open political system of the Gulf States, but tensions have been rising again in recent months, after a spate of political crises and scandals.

On Monday, a Kuwaiti court ordered two newspapers to close for the second time in two months, after they defied a ban on covering an alleged plot to overthrow the emir. Last week, the Supreme Court sentenced three former opposition MPs to 20-month suspended jail terms for publicly insulting the emir, overturning an acquittal by the appeals court.  

Nawaf al-Hendal, a Kuwaiti human rights activist, told MEE Tuesday’s protest was peaceful and that this is the beginning of a rejuvenated opposition movement.

“This is the start and we will fight to get what we want. We want to vote for our government,” he said. “Tonight, we learned about the massive corruption of ex-prime minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah, who Barrack said has stolen 17 billion US dollars from Kuwaiti public funds."

There are rumours circulating on social media that the documents Barrack spoke about at the protest will be released to the public online in the coming days.

"We want a country where people are the makers of their own fate, not one where sheikhs are the masters of the people. We want to hold everyone accountable, even if they're from the ruling family," al-Barrack told the crowd on Tuesday evening.

Mass political protests took place in 2011 and 2012 when demonstrators called for the public to be able to elect all its political representatives and which led to then-prime minister Sheikh Nasser resigning. Protests have since taken place sporadically amid divisions among opposition groups.

Analysts say tonight’s protest suggests the opposition are reuniting and want to capitalise on scandals that have weakened the government, as they seek to push Kuwait towards a fully democratic system.

“The opposition, having stayed below the radar for the past year, have reasserted themselves, making sure that they are now presenting a united front to prevent them being fragmented again,” said Christopher Davidson, reader in Middle East politics at Durham University. “They appear to have largely achieved this and have chosen the moment of maximum weakness for the al-Sabah government, when the government is being forced to cut back on subsidies following IMF warnings and have unsuccessfully attempted to censor local media."

“Tonight’s rally will likely mark a new phase in Kuwaiti politics and it’s also likely that factionalism within the ruling family has meant that one of more branches is now quietly supporting the opposition rather than the emir," he said.

Activists reported a low-key police presence at the protest and said there were no arrests in the square, where protests are permitted by the authorities.