Kuwaiti Islamists have announced the establishment of the Nation Party, which will try to achieve reforms in the political arena, reports the London-based daily Al-Hayyat.
We want to see a “change in laws which restrict freedoms, and the provision of freedom of action for peaceful parties and political associations,” read a letter sent by the new party to Kuwait’s prime minister and speaker of the parliament.
The announcement came during a press conference held in Al-Jahra. Fifteen of the party’s members were present, including its General Secretary Hakim Al-Matiri. According to Al-Hayyat, most of the party’s members are Islamic scholars and academics.
One of the main demands of the Nation Party is to let the people elect their government as well as their current right to elect the parliament. Another clause in the party’s platform calls for the consideration of Islam as a religion and state. It states that the Islamic law (Shari’a) gives rights and freedoms to individuals and groups. The party also called to make sure the principles of political pluralism and rotation of the governance are maintained.
On the international side, the party called to give the people “the right to reject all kinds of foreign imperialism.” On the other hand, it called to “achieve unity with the countries in the region, in particular the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in order to protect the peoples of the region, and to get rid of the foreign military presence which threatens the country’s sovereignty and independence.”
The party leaders attacked the Gulf countries’ backward democratic systems. “We have a good parliament in Kuwait, but the mere existence of parliaments here and there does not mean there is also a rotation of power,” said one of the party’s officials.