August 26, 2008	Tuesday	Sha’aban 23, 1429

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 25: A Kuwaiti rights group has demanded abolishing the sponsor system, calling it the main reason for the unjust treatment of foreign workers who staged a protest last month.

The head of the Kuwaiti Society for Development of Democracy group, Nasser Al Abdali, in a press statement called for abolishing the sponsor system and for adopting a system similar to advanced countries.

He said the only people who could benefit from sponsor system were the visa traders who used their influence to maintain the status quo.

The sponsorship restricted the movement and freedom of foreign workers, leaving them at the mercy of employers, he added. The rights group had previously slammed the sponsorship system as akin to slavery.

Thousands of Bangladeshi workers staged violent protests in Kuwait last month demanding better wages and living conditions. Police used batons and tear gas to disperse them and later deported up to 1,000 workers.Kuwait is home to 2.4 million expatriate workers in addition to just over a million citizens. More than two third of the foreign workers are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Philippines.