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