
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 20, 1991                   TAG: 9103200337
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: UNITED NATIONS                                LENGTH: Medium

KUWAIT'S CABINET RESIGNED TUESDAY IN A MOVE

Kuwait's Cabinet resigned Tuesday in a move intended to bring in new officials as the nation rebuilds from nearly seven months of Iraqi occupation, the emirate's U.N. ambassador said.

Ambassador Mohammad Abulhasan said the prime minister submitted the resignations, which were immediately accepted by the emir, Sheik Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah.

Abulhasan said the new Cabinet should be named in about a week. "This is the first step in putting the house in order," he said.

He declined to speculate whether the Cabinet reshuffling was in response to demands by some Kuwaitis for greater democracy. The ruling family abolished Parliament in 1986.

"When you have martial law, you need to change the government to cope with critical situation that is now facing Kuwait," said Abulhasan.

Kuwaiti officials have declared martial law to restore security in the wake of the Iraqi retreat from allied forces late last month.

Many Kuwaitis have criticized the government for how it has handled the start of the postwar reconstruction. Kuwait's once oil-rich economy now suffers from widespread shortages.

Estimates on the cost of rebuilding Kuwait have ranged from $100 billion to $500 billion.

Earlier this week, Kuwait's crown prince and prime minister, Saad Abdullah al-Sabah, came under intense questioning from visiting U.S. congressmen about his government's commitment to democracy.

The prince put security first as a government priority, then reconstruction, and later political change. He said Kuwait is not a dictatorship and that Parliament will be restored, but he gave no timetable for political reform.

by CNB