Kuwaiti MPs Demand Freeze of Pacts, Loans to Syria

Five Kuwaiti MPs Wednesday submitted a draft bill demanding that the government suspend all cooperation agreements and loans with Syria over its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Spokesman for the opposition Popular Action bloc, MP Mussallam al-Barrak, said the bill calls for ending all forms of cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding between Kuwait and Syria.

The bill, which must be passed by parliament and accepted by government to be effective, also calls for severing relations with Damascus and to stop offering loans to Syria directly or indirectly.

Barrak said he will start next month collecting signatures of other MPs to hold an emergency parliamentary session to pass the bill. Kuwait's parliament is currently in summer recess until late October.

In May, half of Kuwait's 50-member parliament signed a statement urging the government of the Gulf state to sever ties with Damascus and expel its ambassador.

Kuwait last week recalled its ambassador from Syria for "consultations" but has so far resisted public pressure to expel the Syrian envoy.