Kuwaitis storm parliament - video

 


IN DRAMATIC scenes captured on this video, protesters in Kuwait have stormed the country's parliament as anger rises over the corrupt regime.

ABC reports that the scenes materialised after police and elite forces beat up people marching on the prime minister's home to demand his resignation.

It says: "The police had used batons to prevent protesters from marching to the residence of prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, after staging a rally outside parliament. Witnesses said at least five demonstrators were injured and treated on the site.

"Some activists said they will continue to camp outside parliament until the premier is sacked.

"Chanting 'the people want to remove the prime minister', the protesters started to march to the nearby premier's residence when police blocked their way.

"This was the first political violence in the oil-rich Gulf state since December, when elite forces beat up protesters and MPs at a public rally, though activists have been holding protests since March.

"Tension has been building in Kuwait over the past three months after it was alleged about 16 MPs in the 50-member parliament received about $350 million in bribes."

The Kuwaiti regime is closely linked to the USA, which has a military presence there.

On the same day as the protests, First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah were discussing closer ties with US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew J. Shapiro, reports the Kuwait News Agency.

It says: "The meeting tackled military cooperation between the two countries and discussed issues of mutual interests."