Artist's Report from Kuwait
With all the recent turmoil in the Middle East, we checked in with our Dragon Mountain puzzle painter Bryn Barnard, who's living in Kuwait. Bryn reports: "As to anti-Americanism...
With all the recent turmoil in the Middle East, we checked in with our Dragon Mountain puzzle painter Bryn Barnard, who's living in Kuwait. Bryn reports:
"As to anti-Americanism in Kuwait, so far, nothing. On the Friday ten people were killed in Pakistan during demonstrations against the notorious anti-Muhammad movie, Kuwaitis finished midday prayers, then, from what I saw, went shopping. I was at one of the biggest malls in town and it was packed. There has been one anti-movie demonstration so far. But people here seem far more concerned about problems with Parliament. The latest 2012 parliamentary elections (which brought in a Salafist majority, whose first act was to pass a law making blasphemy against the Prophet a capital crime; it was vetoed by the Emir) were nullified by the Constitutional Court, because, it says, the previous Parliament was not dissolved in accordance with the Constitution. So the Emir has recalled the 2009 Parliament so it can be dissolved properly. But the 2009 Parliament refuses to meet. This is putting a snag in reholding elections. The government is so gridlocked, crucial infrastructure projects are not getting built. Oh and there are accusations of corruption, too. These problems are provoking big demonstrations. "