[Excerpt: "Democracy in Kuwait is a lie. The whole process has been hijacked by the fight between the Islamists and Liberals who are not really looking to the future of the country."...Also, he said, "Our constitutional rights have been taken away from us over the years...."We don't have political parties, can't establish new newspapers and magazines and we can't really discuss our problems openly. That was not the message of the founding fathers of the constitution."] _http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=144370_ (http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=144370) Published: 19/12/2004, 10:38 (UAE)
Young Kuwaiti activists launch movement for political pluralism By Nirmala Janssen, Correspondent Kuwait : A group of young political activists has launched the Justice and Development Movement in the country and are calling for political pluralism and the activation of civil institutions and organisations. It also called for the country's 42-year-old constitution to be implemented in practice and cautioned against certain influential people who are trying to amend it to serve their vested interests. Nasser Yousuf Al Abdali, a founder member of the group, told Gulf News, "We are looking for a democracy shaped along the lines of Britain and Spain where the royal families play a very important special role but real power lies in the hands of the people. "Democracy in Kuwait is a lie. The whole process has been hijacked by the fight between the Islamists and Liberals who are not really looking to the future of the country." Also, he said, "Our constitutional rights have been taken away from us over the years. "We don't have political parties, can't establish new newspapers and magazines and we can't really discuss our problems openly. That was not the message of the founding fathers of the constitution." Al Abdali, a veteran journalist for the respected Al Qabas Arabic newspaper and Chairman of the Society for the Promotion of Democracy, also said, "We do not identify ourselves as Islamists or Liberals. We are a movement for all lovers of freedom and include professionals, academics, economists and media. "Our movement represents a social force that is trying to express its opinion on matters that are important to us." In a statement issued earlier to the local media Al Abdali said, "The movement has people between 35 and 40 years of age who are willing to contribute to the creation of a real democratic society where citizens enjoy the same justice and equal opportunity irrespective of their ethnic, sectarian or tribal roots. It added, "The movement is calling to rebuild the state on a real basis in which society will be the top authority. Civil Society has to be rebuilt and it must be provided with an important role." enditem [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
