KUWAIT CONDEMNS MURDER OF AMCIT PAUL JOHNSON

UNCLAS KUWAIT 001933 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP TEL AVIV FOR DCM LEBARON TUNIS FOR NATALIE BROWN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER ASEC CASC SA KU SUBJECT: KUWAIT CONDEMNS MURDER OF AMCIT PAUL JOHNSON REF: STATE 135081 ¶1. The GOK, National Assembly, and Muslim religious leaders have condemned the Johnson murder and expressed support for Saudi actions against terrorists in the Kingdom. On June 19, Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed publicly condemned the murder as a terrorist act and stressed that those who "kill the innocent should get their just penalty, even if that be death." Also on June 19, National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi told reporters that "we (Kuwaitis) feel pain and sorrow over such ill-calculated actions ... we pray that God Almighty helps us all to eliminate the presence of such individuals who have no reverence for homeland, religion, or even humanity in our midst." Dr. Mohammed Tabtabaei, Dean of the Faculty of Shari'a and Islamic Studies at Kuwait University, said the Johnson murder was "damaging to our religion." Sayed Mohammed Al-Mohri, head of the Shi'a Clerics Congregation in Kuwait, also condemned the killing and called the Al-Qaeda militants cowards and criminals who defame Islam. ¶2. On June 20 during its weekly meeting, Kuwait's Council of Ministers (Cabinet) publicly and officially condemned the murder of AMCIT Paul Johnson by Al-Qaeda militants as an "inhumane and brutal act that breaches the teachings of Islam and all human values." The Cabinet also praised Saudi efforts to combat terrorism and extremism in the Kingdom. ¶3. Local dailies carried front-page articles on June 20 and June 21 on the Johnson murder and the killing of Saudi Al-Qaeda leader Abdulaziz Al-Muqrin by Saudi security forces. Leading local English-language daily Arab Times carried numerous editorials on June 21 unanimously condemning the AMCIT's brutal murder. Faisal Al-Zamel, a moderate Islamist highly critical of U.S. policies in Israel and Palestine, wrote that "the killing of innocent people under such naive justifications must be categorically rejected." URBANCIC