Yearbook 2008
Kuwait. According to
Countryaah reports, all members of the government demanded
resignation on March 17, citing difficulties in cooperating
with Parliament on the country's economic policy. The
emergency crisis was triggered by the government approving a
salary increase of 120 dinars per month (equivalent to $
466) for all Kuwaiti, both public and private, while
Parliament wanted to see an increase of another 50 dinars ($
186). After the government resigned, the emir Sabah al-Ahmad
al-Jabir as-Sabah dissolved the parliament.
In a recent May 17 election, Islamist candidates - Shia
and Sunni Muslims - took 24 of the 50 seats, an increase of
three. Liberal candidates and their allies took seven seats,
a reduction of one. No woman was elected. The Emir appointed
a new government under the same prime minister, Nasser
Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The House of K. is the most
powerful in the Gulf states, but democracy is far from
complete. Of the country's 2.9 million residents, only
360,000 had the right to vote. The turnout was estimated at
60 percent.
On November 25, the government again demanded a
resignation, this time after several Islamist MPs asked to
ask the Prime Minister for a visit he recently received from
an Iranian Shiite leader who they allegedly insulted Sunni
Islam. The members also accused the Prime Minister of
corruption and of letting public service in the country
lapse. However, the Emir asked Nasser and his government
members to resume their posts, which they did on December
17.
The Gulf Wars 1990-91
On August 2, 1990, approx. 100,000 Iraqi soldiers entered
Kuwait and occupied the country. Six days later, Kuwait was
annexed by Iraq and proclaimed the country's 19th province,
while part of northern Kuwait was incorporated into Iraq's
Basra province. The invasion met only limited resistance
from the inferior Kuwaiti defense. Later criticism hit both
the defense and the country's political leadership,
including the emir, who fled the country rather than leading
the opposition. A significant proportion of the population
also fled, most of them to Saudi Arabia.
The UN Security Council condemned the invasion of Kuwait
and demanded immediate withdrawal. When Iraq did not comply,
the UN member states were required to participate in a total
boycott of the country and not recognize any Kuwaiti regime
deployed by Iraq. On November 29, 1990, the Security Council
granted Iraq the deadline for January 15, 1991, to withdraw
from Kuwait. If not, the UN member states were authorized to
use "all necessary means" to restore peace and security in
the area.
With the support of this UN resolution, a group of
countries, with the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia
at the helm, began preparing a military action to liberate
Kuwait. Attempts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict
did not emerge. Iraq did not succumb to pressure, and on
January 17, 1991, US-led forces launched their campaign to
release Kuwait: Operation Desert Storm. Thirty
countries, including Norway, made military contributions to
the multinational force, which was under ally military
command in Saudi Arabia. After carrying out a series of
bombings, from air, sea and ground, to targets in Iraq in
the first phase of the war, a massive ground advance from
Saudi Arabia, into both Kuwait and Iraq, was launched from
February 24. After a day and a half, Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein gavetheir forces order to withdraw from Kuwait,
declaring that the country was no longer part of Iraq. On
February 28, the US government ordered a cease-fire. In
March, the Security Council formulated the conditions for a
ceasefire and in April established a demilitarized zone
between the two countries, monitored by a military observer
force: the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission
(UNIKOM), including the one with Norwegian participation. |
