IO N IPT SC R SU B
SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011
Yemen president wounded, rebels attack palace
No: 15109
RAJAB 2, 1432 AH
China meets rebels in latest blow to Gaddafi
Penarol cruise to Libertadores final
150 Fils
7Kuwaiti9protesters 48 up pressure on PM ‘Leave! Kuwait deserves something better’
Max 44º Min 33º
34 Syrian protesters shot dead BEIRUT: Syrian security forces opened fire during one of the largest anti-government protests so far in the 10-week uprising, and activists said at least 34 people were killed yesterday in a city where thousands died in a failed 1982 revolt against the regime. President Bashar Assad’s forces renewed their assault on towns seen as key to the demonstrations calling for an end to his family’s 40-year rule. The regime also cut Internet service across most of the country, a potentially dire blow for a movement that motivates people with graphic YouTube videos of the crackdown and loosely organizes protests on Facebook pages. The Internet shutdown, if it continues, could also hamper the movement’s ability to reach the world outside Syria, where the government has severely restricted the media and expelled foreign reporters, making it nearly impossible to independently verify what is happening there. Still many activists found alternate ways to log on and upload videos, such as satellite connections. Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said tens of thousands of people were protesting in Hama when security forces opened fire. He said the Hama protest was among the largest yet in the uprising that began in mid-March. Yesterday’s protests appeared to be the biggest of the 10-week uprising, with people gathering in larger numbers in cities and towns that before had less participation. Protesters also gathered in several Damascus suburbs, as well as the capital’s central Midan neighborhood, which has seen demonstrations in recent weeks. Abdul-Rahman said security forces killed one person in the village of Has in the northern province of Idlib. Another rights activist, Mustafa Osso said security forces shot dead three protesters in the northeastern city of Deir el-Zour. State-run TV said five policemen were wounded there but did not say how. “It is a real massacre. It is terrorism by itself and they want the people to stay silent,” said an activist in Hama. The activist, who like many involved in the protests requested anonymity to avoid reprisals, said hospitals were calling on people to donate blood. Syria’s state-run TV said three “saboteurs” were killed when police tried to stop them from setting a government building on fire in Hama. The Syrian government blames armed gangs and religious extremists for the violence. In 1982, Assad’s father and predecessor Hafez Assad, crushed a Sunni uprising by shelling Hama, killing 10,000 to 25,000 people, according to Amnesty International estimates. Continued on Page 2
KUWAIT: Some of the Kuwaiti MPs inset) and protesters seen during a protest at the ‘Will Yard’ (Demonstration Yard) outside the parliament house yesterday. — Photos by Joseph Shagra By Hassan A Bari KUWAIT: Around five thousand Kuwaitis, including a delegate from Kuwait Lawyers Society yesterday took part in a demonstration held at the ‘Will Yard’ (Demonstration Yard) outside the parliament house under the title of ‘For the Sake of Kuwait’. Demonstrators urged the PM and his deputy, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah to quit their posts. They also urged HH the Amir to dismiss both the PM and his cabinet members. ‘Leave, leave, Nasser, we don’t want to see you tomorrow’, shouted the protesters. Mohammed Al-Hamlan from the ‘We Want’ Movement addressed the protesters, urging them not to listen to those questioning their will and capability. He accused some MPs of being government ‘mercenaries’. Former MP Dr Fahad AlKhannah criticized some MPs for what he described as their variable attitudes towards public demands to unseat His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah. Speaking to the Kuwaiti Mubasher News TV channel at a rally held opposite the National Assembly (parliament) building, Dr Al-Khannah called on the premier to step down, saying that the ruling family is full of other individuals with the competence and potential to satisfactorily perform the Prime Minister’s role. Commenting on the grilling motion filed against Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the former MP advised Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad to follow the standard procedures by responding to the inquiries contained in the
grilling motion within a maximum of two weeks as per the constitutional rules. He also urged the parliamentary Popular Action Bloc (PAB) members to work on unseating both the PM and his deputy, both of whom he accused of wishing to empty the constitution of its content through their request that discussion of the grilling motion be delayed for a year. Al-Khannah stressed that citizens are entitled to express themselves and to articulate public opinion in a bid to improve the performance of the MPs they previously elected. He also accused both the premier and his deputy of dividing the parliament into two teams of supporters, and of having each team vote against the other. Also attending the demonstration was sitting MP Dr Walid Al-Tabtabaie, who supported Al-Khannah’s demand for both the PM and his deputy to step down. Al-Tabtabaie further asserted that, according to the constitution, citizens are entitled to freedom of expression through peaceful demonstrations and that such demonstrations are simply a manifestation of democracy. Responding to a question on what the MPs want to achieve through the rallies held last Friday and yesterday, Al-Tabtabaie claimed that the government had been violating the constitution in many cases by suspending parliamentary sessions for four months, by refraining from attending sessions upon orders and by questioning some MPs over opinions stated within the parliamentary chamber. Continued on Page 2