(U) GRILLINGS: ROUNDS TWO AND POSSIBLY THREE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001519

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/REA, INR/NESA
RIYADH FOR MATTHEW TUELLER
TUNIS FOR NATALIE BROWN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KU
SUBJECT: (U) GRILLINGS: ROUNDS TWO AND POSSIBLY THREE

REF: A. KUWAIT 000949

B. KUWAIT 00810


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmad,s
Cabinet has survived a second round of grillings in the
National Assembly and appears strong on the eve of a possible
third. The second challenge of the year, this time against
Health Minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Jarallah, came from Shiite
Islamist MP Hussein Al-Qallaf. The charges leveled against
Al-Jarallah all pertained to issues within the Health
Ministry while under his leadership, unlike the earlier
grilling of Finance Minister Mahmoud Al-Nouri, and some of
the charges smacked of probable criminality. Even so, the
12-hour session on May 4 resulted in a failure to call for a
vote of no-confidence against the Minister. This second
grilling is another success for the Sabah Government and
bodes well for the Prime Minister as calls for the grilling
of Information Minister Mohammed Abulhassan increase. END
SUMMARY

(U) Grilling Al-Jarallah
--------------

2. (SBU) The case against Health Minister Dr. Mohammed
Al-Jarallah, the second ministerial grilling this year,
appeared to be far stronger than the previous grilling of
Finance Minister Mahmoud Al-Nouri (Ref A). The more
compelling charges, from the day-long grilling on May 4,
included accusations of squandering public funds, including
KD 85 million (USD 280 million) in undocumented spending, a
policy of reserving particular medicines only for Kuwaiti
nationals, and the ministry,s alleged refusal to treat a
Somali expatriate with kidney failure, who later died in a
local hospital.


3. (SBU) When the time came to call for a vote of
no-confidence, despite some of the scandalous charges and a
relatively weak rebuttal by Al-Jarallah, there was
insufficient support to garner the ten votes necessary to
move the proceedings to the next stage. (NOTE: 10 MPs,
excluding the one initiating the grilling, must request a
vote of no-confidence in order for a vote to be called.
Passage requires a simple majority of members excluding
Ministers--i.e. currently 25 of 49 MPs. END NOTE.) There are
apparent reasons for this failure: Al-Jarallah is a Sunni
Muslim while his accuser, Al-Qallaf, is a minority Shia and
Al-Jarallah has excellent relations with many Members of
Parliament, thus ensuring a foundation of support for him no
matter which MP initiated the grilling. One English-language
local daily went so far as to refer to the grilling as a
"family-friendly housekeeping grill."


4. (SBU) A columnist for Al-Watan newspaper told PolOff that
no one took the grilling seriously, partly because of the
Sunni-Shia divide. An Al-Qabas columnist also intimated that
the grilling of the Health Minister was never serious,
because of Al-Jarallah's connections in Parliament. He
explained that the grilling was done for purposes of "drama,"
as Al-Qallaf wanted to highlight problems in the ministry but
had no real expectation that Al-Jarallah would be sacked.


5. (U) Despite the failure of the grilling, Sunni Islamist MP
Dr. Dhaifallah Bou Ramya announced publicly afterwards his
intention to grill the Health Minister in the next
legislative term. Dr. Bou Ramya, the former head of a public
maternity hospital, claimed that his focus was to pursue real
reform in the country,s healthcare system. He hoped to gain
the support of the Islamist and tribal MPs in the National
Assembly.

(U) The Case Against The Information Minister
-------------- ---

6. (U) Shortly before the Al-Jarallah grilling, the three
Salafi Movement (hardline Sunni Islamist) MPs, Dr. Waleed
Tabtabaei, Abdullah Akkash, and Awad Barad Al-Enezi stated
publicly their intention to grill Information Minister
Mohammed Abulhassan (NOTE: Abulhassan is a liberal and the
only Shiite in the Kuwaiti Cabinet. END NOTE.) Chief among
the complaints against the Minister is Abulhassan,s
authorization of a music concert in Kuwait by the celebrities
from the Arab music reality TV show 'Star Academy.' (NOTE:
This program is a copy of a French show by the same name,
which resembles the US program 'American Idol.' Kuwaiti
Bashar Al-Shatti finished second in the competition, which
included contestants from throughout the Arab world, and is
now a local celebrity. END NOTE.) Other charges against the
Minister include permitting indecent magazines, moral
corruption, an objectionable reduction in the amount of
religious programming, the revocation of 150 promotions
within the Ministry, as well as claims of unjustified
promotions and appointments.


7. (SBU) The music concert, held here on May 7, has drawn the
ire of many Islamists, who hold that the performance violated
Kuwaiti laws and promoted indecency. Kuwaiti public opinion
appears overwhelmingly supportive of the concert despite
public protests outside the venue by several hundred
Islamists. The Ministry of Information claims it sent
supervisors to monitor the concert to ensure law and order;
Shaykh Sabah, according to news reports, declared that the
'Star Academy' concert did not violate any laws. Some
Islamists, however, reportedly attended the concert
surreptitiously, and allegedly documented violations. This
grilling, should it go forward, may have the support of all
18 Islamist MPs. Some speculate that even the five Shia MPs,
four of whom are Islamists, will have difficulty-supporting
fellow Shiite Abulhassan because the accusations are based on
issues of Islamic morality.


8. (SBU) One Al-Qabas pundit told PolOff that the allegations
against Abulhassan would go nowhere. He remarked that
everyone knows the Islamists, case against the Information
Minister has no chance of broad support in the National
Assembly and he doubted whether a grilling would be initiated
at all. Another columnist believes that the grilling may
take place but is confident that Shaykh Sabah will be able to
co-opt enough MPs to protect his Minister. Commenting that
Islamist groups are trying to manipulate Kuwait,s government
and society to achieve their political ambitions, Arab Times
Editor-in-Chief, Ahmed Al-Jarallah, wrote on 12 May that
their actions are tantamount to "intellectual blackmail,
which may lead to armed confrontations as in Saudi Arabia."

(SBU) Shaykh Sabah Looking Strong
--------------

9. (U) Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmad met on May 10
with 14 Islamist MPs and several Ministers to discuss the
issues surrounding the potential grilling of the Information
Minister. News dailies referring to a 'reliable source'
reported that Shaykh Sabah is tired of the confrontations
from Parliament and wants grillings to occur only for major
issues. These sources described the meeting as the Prime
Minister,s "last warning," and noted that Sabah would "stick
to (his) decision to allow concerts in Kuwait."


10. (SBU) Sabah reportedly agreed on May 10 to allow the
formation of a joint committee from the Ministries of
Information and Islamic Affairs to define more stringent
regulations for musical concerts than currently exist. This
may be part of a compromise with the Islamists to allow them
to save face without grilling Mohammed Abulhassan. "Reliable
sources" were cited in a May 12 daily that any new Islamic
restrictions on concerts, such as gender-segregated
performances, are unlikely to "see the light of day."


11. (SBU) Some pundits are expressing their confidence that
the grilling of the Information Minister will be delayed or
canceled because of Sabah,s firm stand. Meanwhile, some
Islamist MPs, insisting that the musical concert "undermines
religious values," continue to publicly commit to a grilling.
Scientific Salafi MP Waleed Tabtabaei vowed to submit his
charges against the Minister next week.


12. (C) COMMENT: It is widely accepted that Finance Minister
Mahmoud Al-Nouri was saved from dismissal by Shaykh Sabah,s
direct intervention. At the conclusion of his grilling, few
thought he had a chance of beating the no-confidence motion.
In addition to accusations of blatant vote buying, one
liberal columnist told PolOff that Shaykh Sabah granted
citizenship to an MP,s bidoon family members in exchange for
his support. The Prime Minister's strong stand in that
earlier case may have discouraged some MPs from going after
the Health Minister.


13. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: Sabah Al-Ahmad appears to be
firmly in position to confront any further attacks on his
Ministers. Another pundit told PolOff that Shaykh Sabah is
savvy enough to know when and with whom to make deals to
influence important votes. He explained that Sabah is able
to use his position as "chief" of the tribe in this top-down
patronage society to keep everyone happy while still getting
his way. Crossing Sabah Al-Ahmad may mean a victory today,
he explained, but when you need something important
accomplished, he is the one to whom you must go. A grilling
against the Information Minister may happen soon, as at least
one tenacious Islamist MP has made clear his intention to
press forward. Despite this threat, there is little evidence
to suggest that Sabah, who himself has liberal leanings, will
fail to co-opt enough MPs to protect his Minister.
URBANCIC