MPs highlight plight of Bidoons in Kuwait

Kuwaiti opposition parliamentarians walked out of parliament on Saturday, accusing the government of failing to resolve the "humanitarian" ordeal of tens of thousands of stateless Arabs living in the country for decades, local English daily Arab Times reported.

Parliament was holding a special session to review government plans to resolve the problem of 90,000 stateless, known as Bidoons, who claim to be Kuwaiti citizens but officials insist they come from neighbouring states.

"What happened today exemplifies the government's unwillingness to solve this humanitarian issue. The government is simply not interested," veteran MP Ahmad Al Saadoun told reporters as he led lawmakers out of the session.

The session was held behind closed doors at the request of the government, which said it wanted to provide MPs with confidential information. But the lawmakers said the information had already been published in the press.

"There are some officials who don't want to provide these people with their rights as human beings. They are denied driving licences, education, medical services and documentation of marriage contracts," said MP Mussallam Al Barrak.

The government insists that most Bidoons (Arabic for without), or illegal residents as it calls them, or their ancestors had come to Kuwait from neighbouring states after the discovery of oil, looking for lucrative benefits provided only to citizens.

Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah told the house in a statement that out of 90,000 Bidoons, 20,000 had produced their original citizenship and were given residence permits like other foreigners.

He said documented information shows that more than 37,000 of them belong to other countries and accordingly must stop claiming Kuwaiti citizenship.

Sheikh Nawaf said the government has decided not to grant citizenship to Bido-ons who came to Kuwait after 1965, and will only consider cases of those who came before then.