US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3221

UNCLAS KUWAIT 003221 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, PA, NEA/PI, G/TIP 
ABU DHABI FOR WECHSEL/ HOPKINS, LONDON FOR TSOU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KPAO, KISL, PREL, PHUM, KMPI, KWMN, KU 
SUBJECT:  NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SPEAKS OUT ON WOMEN, 
PARTIES 
 
 
1. SUMMARY: Speaker of the National Assembly Jassem Al- 
Khorafi discussed women's political rights, human rights, 
Kuwait's democratic development and political parties in a 
July 19 interview with Abu Dhabi TV widely covered the next 
day in all local media. Al-Khorafi clarified a series of 
recent public statements, and claimed that Kuwaiti 
democratic development was still "incomplete." END SUMMARY. 
 
2. Much of the interview, which was extensively transcribed 
in all local Arabic dailies, involved the interviewer 
confronting Al-Khorafi with his own statements of the 
previous two months, and those of others, and asking the 
Speaker for further comment. On women's rights, Al-Khorafi 
was asked to comment on statements by some women's 
activists that women should be given a quota of elected 
offices. Al-Khorafi cryptically responded that "women must 
be wise on how to use their rights." 
 
3. Al-Khorafi was less cryptic in denying allegations that 
the Government granted women their political rights only 
after bowing to international pressure. "No," Al-Khorafi 
responded. "[Kuwait] made the decision, and we made it 
because it was the right time." 
 
4. The time has not yet come for the legalization of 
political parties, Al-Khorafi said, reiterating remarks he 
made in a July 3 meeting with the editors-in-chief of 
Kuwaiti Arabic dailies. At that time, Al-Khorafi reportedly 
said that democracy cannot continue without the 
legalization of parties. He said that now was not the time, 
but that the time would come soon. Al-Khorafi said 
virtually the same thing to Abu Dhabi TV, remarking that 
Kuwait's democracy is "incomplete" without legal parties, 
but "at the moment we are not in favor of" the 
legalization. 
 
5. Al-Khorafi was also asked about statements he made on 
June 26, strongly criticizing the Government's failure to 
respond to both the U.S. Trafficking in Persons (TIP) 
Report, which ranked Kuwait Tier 3, and inaccurate media 
reports that Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State 
Elizabeth Cheney had called for international monitoring of 
Kuwaiti's 2007 elections. The Speaker, whose forceful 
comments at that time spurred a flurry of media speculation 
on why he was discussing the U.S. in such harsh terms, told 
Abu Dhabi TV that, "at that time, I said what had to be 
said. It is over." 
 
6. In yet another series of widely-discussed remarks the 
Speaker made regarding the TIP report in the wake of its 
issuance in June, he said, referring to the U.S. having 
issued the report, "that those in glass houses shouldn't 
throw stones." Referring to those statements, the Abu Dhabi 
interviewer asked, "Were those the statements of Kuwait or 
of Al-Khorafi?" "Al-Khorafi the Kuwaiti," was the Speaker's 
answer. He further added that while no country is perfect, 
Kuwait remains open to constructive criticism about its 
human rights record. 
 
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LEBARON