Kuwaiti opposition blasts new government
AFP
KUWAIT CITY
Petroleumworld.com 02 14 06
Kuwaiti opposition groups blasted the emirate's new cabinet Monday,
accusing it of containing "corrupt" elements and predicting
it will fail to implement reforms.
"We are shocked that ministers who fought against corruption
were excluded ... (while) the princes of corruption have been
retained," former liberal MP Abdullah al-Nibari told a public
gathering attended by all opposition groups.
"This government is no different from the previous one because
it remains under the control of the corruption establishment which
also holds sway in parliament," said Hussein al-Saeedi, spokesman
for the Islamic Ummah Party, which is not officially recognized.
The new 16-member cabinet, headed by the emir's nephew Sheikh
Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, was sworn in by the ruler on
Saturday. It is due to take the oath in parliament on February
20.
Two leading liberal former ministers, Abdullah al-Taweel (commerce
and industry) and Faisal al-Hajji (social affairs and labour),
were excluded from the new formation.
Former justice minister Ahmad Baqer, an Islamist, and education
minister Rasheed al-Hamad, an independent liberal, were also not
included in the line-up.
Opposition groups believe the four ministers had been engaged
in fighting corruption and pushing for reforms in the oil-rich
emirate.
"We had a nice dream after they told us that a new era had
begun ... But we found out there was nothing new. It's the same
old story," liberal MP Ali al-Rashed said.
The government will serve until the next general election in July
2007.
AFP
02/13/06
Copyright
© 2006 AFP. All rights reserved
Send
this story to a friend
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write
to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels
| 
