25 June 2004	Friday	06 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

KUWAIT CITY, June 24: An outspoken Kuwaiti columnist on Thursday accused sections of the ruling Al Sabah family of "ruining" the emirate, in a strong attack rarely seen in this country.

"We say it loudly," that sections of the ruling family "have ruined the country, when they decided to run its affairs single-handedly," liberal Abdullatif al Duaij wrote in Al Qabas daily.

"These are the destructive forces within the ruling family. They are hostile to the democratic system," alleged Mr Duaij, who added that not all members of the family were against democracy.

"Unfortunately ... the destructive elements have the upper hand in the family. They are responsible for leading the country ... into a dark tunnel, particularly before and during the last two sessions of parliament," he said.

"They are hostile to popular options, to the country's order and its constitutional institutions," Mr Duaij charged. The writer was commenting on the outcome of two parliament sessions held on June 12 and 19 to discuss a reform bill calling for amendments to the electoral law to eliminate irregularities.

After promising to support the amendments, the government stepped back and voted for a motion to delay a decision on the bill until the next legislative term starting in October. Mr Duaij also claimed that choices made by the ruling family in "the past few days have been against the interests of the nation". -AFP