KUWAIT: Kuwait's ruler opened the country's new parliament on Sunday in the face of months of street protests and political unrest, warning critics he would not accept lawless behaviour and chaos on the streets.
Security forces had set up barriers that stopped several hundred opposition activists a small crowd by Kuwaiti standards approaching the building overnight to continue their demonstrations against what they see as a rubber-stamp assembly.
The parliament in the US-allied oil producer was elected on Dec. 1 amid mass street rallies and opposition boycotts over a change to the voting laws that activists said favoured pro-government candidates.
A long-running power struggle between members of Kuwait's elected parliament and its appointed cabinet has held up reforms, stalled investment and sunk a series of assemblies.
The last opposition-dominated parliament collapsed in February and this month's election was the sixth since mid-2006.
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Sunday told the new lawmakers he supported freedom of expression and constructive criticism, but recent events had shown "aspects of chaos, breaching of the law and unguided political discourse".
"Why have we flung the door open to allow the ill-intended and the sly to harm the security of our nation and its capabilities?" he asked in a frank public address.
He called on the new lawmakers to avoid "unfruitful debate", to respect the boundaries of power and to cooperate with the government.
The most recent unrest erupted when the emir used emergency laws in October to cut the number of votes per citizen to one from four. He said it would fix a flawed system and ensure security.
Members of Kuwait's disparate opposition said it would hit their ability to encourage supporters to cast additional votes for allies and form political relationships in a country that does not allow political parties.
Center>Copyright Reuters, 2012
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