Kuwait City, December 30: The ruler of Kuwait on Tuesday warned against chaos and social divisions amid heightened political turmoil and tribal and sectarian tensions that have rocked the oil-rich Gulf state.
“Democratic practice has its principles and limits … If it exceeds that it turns into chaos,” Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said in televised speech, adding that such chaos is a threat to Kuwait’s security and stability.
“We must be aware of the dangers of hateful rifts … There are no winners in strife and the loser is always the nation,” he said.
Tribal and sectarian tensions have surfaced in OPEC’s fourth-largest producer over the past few weeks, with the emirate’s Bedouin tribes staging two massive rallies last week to protest a controversial television programme.
The minority Shiites also organised a large gathering to protest comments deemed offensive to their faith.
Opposition MPs, who earlier this month grilled the prime minister and three other cabinet members over allegations of corruption, have again threatened to grill the premier and other ministers.
“Recent regrettable practices in Kuwait have crossed all limits … they opened the door for chaos and fuelled tensions,” said the emir, while appealing for national unity.
Since 2006, Kuwait had six cabinets and parliament was dissolved three times due to political tensions between the government, headed by Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, a nephew of the ruler, and MPs.
—Agencies