Thousands Of Barrak's Supporters March Towards Central Prison

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31

Kuwait riot police Wednesday used stun grenades and tear-gas to disperse thousands of angry demonstrators who marched on the Central Prison where a leading opposition figure is detained.

The protest came hours after the public prosecutor extended the detention of Mussallam Al-Barrak for 10 days over remarks deemed critical of the Amir, in a crackdown on dissent ahead of Dec 1 snap polls.


The crowd, estimated by organisers at 10,000 and onlookers first gathered at Barrak's residence in Andalus, 20 kms (12 miles) southwest of Kuwait City before marching on the Central Prison about three kms away.

Chanting "freedom for Barrak" and holding banners reading "The nation wants the release of the 'conscience of the nation'" -- the term used for nationalist Barrak -- the protesters were faced with stun grenades as they arrived at the prison.

Activists told AFP that there were at least two other smaller demonstrations in solidarity with Barrak in south and north of the Gulf state which has seen an increased number of protests in recent months amid intense political disputes.

The Interior Ministry blamed "violent agitators and instigators" for the trouble and said several protesters have been arrested.

It also charged that some protesters threw rocks and bottles at policemen who ordered them to disperse.

Witnesses told AFP the clashes were still going on late on Wednesday in residential areas around the Central Prison between several hundred protesters and riot police. There were no reports of injuries.
Supporters of former lawmaker Musallam Al-Barrak, along with some members of his tribe (Al-Mutair) like former MP Khaled Shukhayyer, on Wednesday marched from his diwaniya in Andalus towards the Central Prison to demand for his release. 

While marching towards the prison, security forces asked the protesters to end the demonstration within five minutes. Shukhayyer advised them to return to Al-Barrak's diwaniya but some had insisted on holding a protest action near the jail; leaving the officers with no other option but to fire tear-gas and stun grenades at them. The demonstrators then headed back to the diwaniya of Al-Barrak; passing through Sabah Al-Nasser and Firdous. The protest action is said to have slowed down traffic movement in some roads.

 Earlier, a number of citizens, including veteran politician Ahmad Al-Khateeb and ex-MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Faisal Al-Mislem, gathered Wednesday in front of Al-Taleia Printing Press building along Journalism Street in Shuwaikh to express their support for calls to boycott the upcoming legislative elections.

However, the organizers of the gathering -- the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Democratic Platform -- decided to cancel the event in compliance with the instructions of the securitymen who asked the demonstrators to disperse peacefully. 

Addressing the participants prior to the dispersal, Assistant Secretary General of NDA Anwar Juma said, "A group of citizens organized our gathering today with the support of the members of the coalition. We are not against the law and we have no intention to break it. We just want to exercise our constitutional right to oppose an emergency decree on amending the voting system." 

Meanwhile, Khalifa Al-Muzain, one of the demonstrators, revealed the security officers have asked them to stop the demonstration, so the group agreed to cancel it. 

Some former MPs, including Khalid Tahous, Osama Al-Munawer, Mohammed Al-Dallal and Osama Shaheen, had previously announced their plan to attend the gathering but none of them was seen in the area.

© Arab Times 2012