(Reuters) – Kuwait’s government has made clear it is willing and able to suppress unauthorized street protests, saying it must protect public safety, but it risks provoking worse popular unrest by taking a hard line.

Police fired tear gas and smoke bombs to disperse thousands of Kuwaitis protesting over new voting rules late on Sunday. Last month a prominent opposition figure was arrested after speaking at a protest rally where he appealed to the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, to avoid “autocratic rule”.

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