Kuwait bracing for crucial week

Kuwait’s government is expected to resign Monday following an emergency meeting to discuss the ongoing political crisis that has gripped the country, a local daily said. The resignation will come ahead of a mass rally on Monday and a move to grill the prime minister on Tuesday. The Emir will accept the government’s decision and will also dissolve the parliament constitutionally, Al Siyassah reported on Monday, citing “well-informed sources” that it did not name. According to Al Aan, a Kuwaiti news portal, three ministers are adamant to quit the government over the political crisis. Mohammad Al Affasi, the justice and social affairs minister, handed in his resignation after he refused to sign a request to lift the immunity of eight MPs in the parliament storming case, the news portal said. Dr Hilal Al Sayer, the health minister, and Abdul Wahab Al Haroon, the state minister for planning and development, have also insisted on quitting the government, it said. Dissolution of Parliament Both the resignation of the government and the dissolution of the parliament have been key demands by an opposition intent on reaching its objectives after weeks of bitter showdowns that culminated in the storming of the parliament and the arrest of several people. On Sunday, the public prosecution extended the detention of 24 suspects in the storming of the parliament by 21 days and freed seven on bail of KD 1,000. According to the daily, 16 detainees are being investigated for their alleged role in the storming amid expectations that the public prosecution will today call for lifting the parliamentary immunity of the lawmakers who led the storming on November 16. Detainees As the investigations into the “Black Wednesday” continued, parents of the detainees and opposition MPs continued to camp in front of the Justice Palace to demand the release of the detainees ahead of “the biggest mass rally” on Monday, expected to bring together several groups and organisations. The interior ministry said that while Kuwaitis had the right to express their views freely, they must comply with the rules and regulations and avoid abuses. Several lawmakers have warned that they would use street pressure to force the government to step down. However, other MPs have condemned the tactics, saying that they would deepen the political crisis and cause further chaos in the country. MPs Mislim Al Barak, Faysal Al Mislim and Abdul Rahman Al Anjari, three opposition lawmakers, had filed to grill Prime Minister Shaikh Nasser Al Mohammad in parliament on Tuesday over allegations that several lawmakers had received huge sums of money in their bank accounts to influence their voting. The case is being investigated.