US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT1311

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001311 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, KWMN, KU, WOMEN'S POLITICAL RIGHTS 
SUBJECT: KUWAITI VOTING RIGHTS: MOCK PLEBISCITE CANCELED 
AND IRKED ACTIVISTS SUE ISLAMIST MP 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 1200 
     B. KUWAIT 1091 
     C. KUWAIT 1016 
     D. KUWAIT 991 
 
Classified By: DCM Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Pro-Government MP Jamal Hussein Al-Omar told 
the Ambassador that the GOK still lacks enough votes to pass 
legislation granting women's suffrage, but the Government 
continued to insist the voting rights bill would pass. 
Sources claim a cabinet reshuffle is in the works to secure 
enough 'yes' votes. At the same time, in a private 
conversation with the Ambassador, a senior advisor to the 
Prime Minister concurred that the U.S. low-profile on the 
issue is the best method for avoiding increased Islamist 
claims that foreign pressure is behind the move to grant 
women the vote. Meanwhile, organizers suddenly canceled a 
mock plebiscite designed to gauge Kuwaiti women's support for 
voting rights. MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaie raised activists' ire, 
and drew a defamation lawsuit, when he allegedly claimed they 
were promoting a society of "bisexuals and bastards." End 
summary. 
 
Dissenting Voice from Parliament 
-------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) MP Jamal Hussein Al-Omar, a pro-Government liberal who 
weeks ago predicted the bill would pass (ref B), shared his 
now pessimistic view with the Ambassador at his diwanya that 
the Government lacks the votes necessary to grant women 
political rights. Furthermore, he was concerned about the 
leadership's ability to garner the numbers. He was 
particularly critical of Justice Minister Ahmad Baqer, a 
known voting rights opponent, and questioned why the GOK 
tolerated this dissent and did not reorganize the Cabinet. 
According to Al-Omar, the continuing influence of the 
Islamists and internal disputes within the Al-Sabah family 
inhibit immediate changes. 
 
3. (C) In speaking one-on-one with Khaled Al-Fulaij, Oil 
Advisor to the Prime Minister, the Ambassador stressed that 
the U.S. strategy of remaining out of the limelight on voting 
rights should not be interpreted as lack of support for the 
initiative. Al-Fulaij said that no one, including the PM, 
doubted U.S. support for women's suffrage and concurred with 
the analysis of most proponents that more vocal U.S. backing 
would be counterproductive. (Note: Islamists and Government 
opponents continue to claim foreign influence is behind the 
latest push to grant voting rights, which they claim is 
inappropriately-timed. End note.) 
 
Mock Plebiscite Abruptly Canceled 
---------------------------------- 
 
4. (U) Despite widespread media coverage about an anticipated 
March 28 mock plebiscite designed to measure Kuwaiti women's 
support for voting rights (ref A), the Kuwait Journalist 
Association (KJA) abruptly canceled the event. An 
English-language daily reported that female activists 
supported the decision to cancel since asking women to "vote" 
on the issue was inappropriate as female political 
participation is a constitutional right regardless of 
society's viewpoint. 
 
5. (U) A KJA board member, however, told emboffs that one of 
the organizers took it upon himself to tout the event in the 
media without first consulting with the board. (Comment: The 
report strains credibility given the large amount of 
pre-event publicity and abrupt cancellation. End comment.) 
Since the mock vote participants would have been 
self-selected, the poll would not represent a random sample. 
According to the contact, board members feared a high turnout 
of voting rights opponents could skew the results, thus 
damaging their cause. The contact assured us that no outside 
pressures influenced the KJA's decision to cancel the 
plebiscite. 
 
Government on the Stump 
----------------------- 
 
6. (U) Voting rights proponents, including MPs Mohammed 
Al-Sager and Yousef Al-Zalzala, spun the public debate in a 
new direction by re-labeling the discussion as a struggle for 
human rights rather than for women's rights. Since the 
constitution states that all Kuwaitis are equal, there should 
be no differences between men and women regarding voting, the 
two declared at a March 23 seminar at the American University 
of Kuwait. 
 
7. (U) During a March 26 interview with a UAE-based 
newspaper, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Shaykh 
Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah reiterated GOK support for 
women's voting rights. He stressed that Kuwaiti women's 
suffrage has been a long-time wish of Amir Shaykh Jaber 
Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and encouraged parliamentarians to 
vote in favor. He recognized the professional contributions 
of Kuwaiti women including their role to help liberate Kuwait 
from Iraqi occupation in 1990. 
 
8. (U) In response to a press report that the GOK intends to 
name a new information minister as soon as possible to help 
bolster the number of National Assembly votes in favor of 
voting rights. Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah 
announced the appointment of a new Information Minister will 
come "when the time is right" and not necessarily when merely 
politically expedient. Media speculation centers around Dr. 
Ali Al-Tarrah, a liberal and dean at Kuwait University, as 
the favored candidate. Shaykh Sabah further emphasized that 
women's voting rights would pass even without the nomination 
of a new minister. The GOK maintains that no cabinet 
reshuffle is in the offing. Rumors continue, however, that 
the Ministries of Finance; Information; and Social Affairs 
and Labor are likely targets for change. 
 
Women's Rights Activists Take on Al-Tabtabaie 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
9. (U) The Women's Cultural and Social Society has filed a 
defamation lawsuit against Salafi MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaie for 
allegedly accusing women's rights activists of promoting a 
"society of bisexuals and bastards." He also purportedly 
asserted that rights' activists are stirring public opinion 
against opponents. The Society is one of the leading 
organizations advocating the extension of voting rights to 
women. In response, Al-Tabtabaie charged that his words had 
been misinterpreted and taken out of context. 
 
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LEBARON