Kuwaitis call for more protests

Dubai: An opposition Kuwaiti lawmaker who had participated in the storming of the parliament building yesterday threatened more protests if the government and the assembly were not dissolved."We are now waiting for the dissolution of government and the parliament," opposition lawmaker Musallam Al Barrak told reporters in parliament. "Until this happens, Wednesday was only the first step among many. We don't fear anything except God".According to witnesses, a rally organised by the opposition MPs on Wednesday evening calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Shaikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah degenerated after protesters decided to organise a second rally in front of the premier's residence.However, the young people, led by MPs, were prevented by the police and in the ensuing clashes, protesters hurled bottles of water at the servicemen who responded by beating them with batons. Kuwaiti media said the clashes resulted in several injuries.The rally then moved to the parliament and the protesters muscled their way into the main hall where some lawmakers delivered speeches in which they reportedly said that the time for words was over and that action was the way forward.      Assassination'The Interior Ministry said yesterday five members of the security services were injured in scuffles.The ministry said police officers and members of the national guard were among those injured. It also says public property was damaged.The ministry did not elaborate, and there was no word on whether protesters were injured or detained.MP Muslim Al Barrack, a vociferous opponent of the prime minister, called for a series of popular rallies and sit-ins to remove him while MP Waleed Al Tabtabai mourned the ‘assassination of the Kuwaiti constitution' in reference to the decision by the parliament on Tuesday not to move ahead with the questioning of Shaikh Nasser.