Kuwait Orders 30-Day Extension of Martial Law : Persian Gulf: The crown prince denounces vigilante abductions and other rights abuses. He warns of loss of international support.

Kuwait’s government extended military rule for 30 days on Monday, one day after its crown prince denounced continuing human rights abuses, including abduction and torture by well-armed vigilantes.

Kuwait’s emir, Sheik Jabbar al Ahmed al Sabah, quietly extended the martial law decree that has governed Kuwaitis since allied forces liberated their nation three months ago. The 30-day extension was not announced publicly, however, and there were unconfirmed reports Monday that the Cabinet had been divided over whether to continue martial law.

The move came after an unusually blunt speech by Crown Prince Sheik Saad al Abdullah al Sabah, who is also prime minister and martial law governor. For the first time, he threatened to punish soldiers or civilians responsible for a reported rash of postwar beatings, tortures and disappearances.

“We cannot tolerate any more and allow those who have evil intentions to meddle in the security of the nation and the people,” the prince said in a televised speech Sunday.

“These elements must be arrested, questioned and brought to trial,” he said. “ We must not lose the international support we have on account of irresponsible acts by individuals.”

The speech came after weeks of allegations that non-Kuwaitis, particularly Palestinians and others suspected of collaborating with the Iraqis, have been beaten, raped or dragged off to secret detention centers where they are held incommunicado. Palestinians also complain of routine harassment and shakedowns by security forces at checkpoints.

“They are taken from their homes or the streets and taken to the police station, where they are tortured,” Prince Saad said. “This is totally unacceptable and cannot continue.”

Western diplomats and human rights groups hailed the speech Monday as the first official mention of the problem.

“That’s a very positive and a very forceful statement,” said one Western diplomat. “They understand the problem, and they are trying to do something about it.”

“The acknowledgment of ongoing torture by the police and the vow to prosecute torturers is a very significant first step toward putting an end to this disturbing reality,” said Kenneth Roth, deputy director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Kuwaiti opposition leaders faulted the government for prolonging a martial-law rule they consider unconstitutional and said the prince’s remarks were long overdue.

“That’s all nice and well, but our point is his remarks came too late . . . ,” said Abdullah Naibairi of the Kuwaiti Democratic Front, adding: “We have become used to very good speeches and nice words and correct attitudes when our leaders come to speak in public, but the problem is these attitudes are not reflected in practice.

“If they really bring these culprits to the law, then people will believe it. Otherwise, people will consider it a good speech divorced from real action.”

Naibairi said leaders of eight opposition groups sought and held talks with the emir, the first such meeting, to press for urgent democratic reforms and the immediate holding of general elections promised for next year.

In his 45-minute speech, Prince Saad also ordered Kuwaitis to surrender all their weapons. He said these include machine guns, anti-aircraft artillery and antitank missiles.

Few expect compliance, however. Three Kuwaitis interviewed separately this week said they are keeping Iraqi weapons as “souvenirs.” There are also indications that the weapons are being used: A banker said he heard an exchange of gunfire outside a suburban police station Sunday.

On Mutla Ridge, where a column of fleeing Iraqis vehicles was obliterated by allied air power less than an hour’s drive from the city, scavengers and tourists pick through abandoned crates of hand grenades from East Bloc countries, howitzer shells, machine-gun rounds, mortars and rocket-propelled antitank weapons, all lying in the desert for the taking.

The prince stopped short of accusing the security forces of complicity in human rights abuses, saying that some of the crimes were committed by people who had managed to obtain military uniforms. But he noted a “leniency on the part of the security men who are supposed to safeguard public safety” and warned that no one would be exempt from the rule of law.

“Some of you might say that the sons of some officials, or even members of the (ruling Sabah) family are carrying out illegal acts,” he said. “This is not an excuse. . . .

“To translate words into action, I urge the interior minister that if one day my only son Fahd breaks the law, he must be arrested and brought to justice.”

Two government officials said Monday that Western reports of human rights abuses in Kuwait have been greatly exaggerated and that most abuses occurred only in the anger and chaos immediately after liberation.

“Most of these reports are old,” said one official, who claimed the perpetrators were not members of the security forces but gangs of armed youths.

“Mostly they are young people, misguided people who think they are serving Kuwait this way. It’s a very self-defeating concept of patriotism.”

Roth, a former federal prosecutor who is investigating the allegations for Human Rights Watch, said that about one-quarter of the roughly 600 people who have been detained since liberation are being held in a cellblock where visitors are not permitted. Another 250 people are reportedly being detained in a separate facility run by the state security forces, he said.

“Also, there are a series of cases that we have been able to document of people that were killed under torture in military or police custody since liberation,” Roth said.

“These are not, by their appearance, killings by free-lance groups,” he added. “These were people brought to regular detention centers and tortured by arms of the regular government. . . . What we don’t yet know is the magnitude.”