Democracy Activists Hold 1st Kuwait Rally : Reform: At illegal gathering, nearly 1,000 protest the emir’s decision not to hold elections until October, 1992.

KUWAIT CITY —  Kuwait’s democratic movement mobilized Tuesday as close to 1,000 people met outside a mosque to oppose their emir’s decision not to hold elections until October, 1992.

“We want to tell people that the complete freedom of Kuwait has not happened yet,” said Ahmed Bakir, a member of the Parliament that the emir dissolved in 1986. “The legitimate government of Kuwait is not back yet.”

The political gathering, held under the cover of evening prayer, was technically illegal and was publicized only by word of mouth.

It was the first public meeting of democracy activists since the oil emirate was liberated by a U.S.-led coalition in late February, and it came two days after the emir announced the controversial election date. It drew all seven major opposition groups, as well as key Kuwaiti political figures.

Opposition leaders called on the government to restore Kuwait’s constitution; hold elections for a new Parliament in January, 1992; lift martial law, and end restrictions on the press and on free assembly.

“How are we going to have free elections in October when we still don’t have a free press?” asked Ahmed Saldoon, speaker of the former Parliament.

Kuwaitis who stayed behind and resisted the Iraqi occupation while the ruling Sabah family and the government fled into exile in Saudi Arabia seem particularly impatient with the pace of postwar political change.

“The people during the crisis never surrendered to (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein,” said Bakir, a leader of the Islamic Popular Caucus. “Now it’s the turn of the government to trust the people and give them freedom.”

Although their platforms differ, the opposition groups appear to be nearly unanimous in their demands.

“We are all in this together: Islamic, Shia, Sunni, leftist, merchants,” Bakir said. “Kuwaitis are open-minded. We are very encouraged by the Western method of democracy as well as our Islamic heritage.”

However, some warned of possible violence if Kuwait’s democratic aspirations continue to be thwarted.

The government is stubborn, complained Issam Sagar, a banker from an influential Kuwaiti family.

“They know very well that most of the Kuwaitis are against the decision they are taking. . . ,” he said. “We are fed up with violence. But they should know that the Kuwaiti people don’t trust them any more.”

Tuesday’s political eruption was not unprecedented in Kuwait. In 1986, the emir, Sheik Jabbar al Ahmed al Sabah, dissolved a Parliament that had become increasingly critical of his government. Kuwait was then reeling from guerrilla attacks by Shiite Muslims who sided with Iran during the Iran-Iraq War and from an attempt to assassinate the emir.

But by winter of 1989, the opposition had reorganized and was drawing crowds of up to 8,000 for public meetings, many of which were broken up by police, organizers said.

Political tensions today are potentially more explosive, because ordinary Kuwaiti citizens have arsenals of weapons scavenged from the fleeing Iraqis, and some have formed private militias. With few exceptions, they have ignored repeated orders by the government to surrender their arms.

“Every Kuwaiti is reluctant to hand over his weapons when he does not have confidence in the government’s ability to protect him,” Saldoon said.

Despite such statements, it was a gentle gathering at the Fatima Mosque in one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods. A few people prayed, but most talked politics on the sidewalk. Men in dishdashas, the traditional white robe worn by Persian Gulf men, exchanged kisses with friends who were only recently returning to Kuwait. A handful of women came veiled in long black abas ; many more watched the goings-on from their parked cars.