Kuwait condemns revenge attack ahead of polls

Kuwait's Emiri Court on Tuesday afternoon urged all Kuwaitis to commit themselves to the law and to distance themselves from anything that fanned sectarianism, tribalism and elitism, ahead of parliamentary polls on Thursday. In a statement issued hours after angry protesters torched the tent headquarters of a controversial candidate who reportedly denigrated a fellow contender and his tribe, the Court said that it was pained by the deplorable events that "cut through the fabric of the Kuwaiti society." The court said that it started legal action on the matter. Former lawmakers and civil society organisations issued statements that lambasted Mohammad Al Juwaihal for denigrating Abaid Al Wasmi, a candidate in the Fourth Constituency and member of Al Mutair tribe in a campaign speech on Monday evening. Immediate reactions to the speech late in the evening included a demonstration of force by thousands of members of the tribe, the torching of Al Jawaihal's tent headquarters and pledges to move into more action if the authorities did not bar the controversial from running in the elections on Thursday. "Our national unity is in jeopardy because of the wrong practices by some corrupt people and media," Abdul Rahman Al Anjari, a former lawmaker seeking re-election, said. "Their aim is to tear the society fabric into city dwellers and Bedouins, Sunnis and Shiites. The tribes of Kuwait are an essential component of the society and any attack on any tribe is an attack on the people of Kuwait," he said. Mohammad Munawar, a Kuwaiti lawyer, said that he filed a court case to have Al Juwaihal barred from running in the elections. The move is based on the moral ineptness of the candidate to represent the Kuwaiti nation in the parliament, the lawyer said. Kuwait - Gulf news