KUWAIT FREEDOM AGENDA: PRIME MINISTER'S SON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004008

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI
LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2015
TAGS: PREL EAID PGOV PHUM KU PDEM FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: KUWAIT FREEDOM AGENDA: PRIME MINISTER'S SON
ADVISES QUIET REFORM PUSH

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Shaykh Nassar Al-Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah,
the son of the Prime Minister and an advisor to the premier,
advised the Ambassador to push the U.S. political reform
agenda quietly in political circles rather than publicly. The
Ambassador questioned Shaykh Nassar on the intentions of
Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in the
upcoming legislative session. End summary.

Electoral Reform: "We Should Address It and Tackle It"
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2. (C) On reform, Shaykh Nassar said that he was in favor of
a reduction in electoral constituencies from the current
twenty-five to five or ten, which he maintained would reduce
corruption and vote-buying. "That really can push Kuwait
forward," Shaykh Nassar said. (Note: Under the current
electoral system, parliamentary candidates have needed less
than 1,000 votes in some districts to win a seat in the
National Assembly. Recent elections have sparked numerous
allegations of tribal caucuses that pre-selected candidates
destined for victory, as well as wholesale vote-buying. End
note.) Shaykh Nassar said that three years ago, he had
written a report calling for a reduction from 25 to ten
electoral districts, and promised us a copy.


3. (C) The Prime Minister was in favor of such a reduction,
Shaykh Nassar indicated, but that the issue was now in the
hands of the National Assembly, where discussions but no
action occurred during the last legislative session. Shaykh
Nassar explained that the Prime Minister delivered his
reduction plan to Parliament, and left it there. "That's not
right," Shaykh Nassar said of such hands-off behavior. "I
think we should address it and tackle it."

"It Will be Much Stronger if You Whisper it"
--------------


4. (C) The Ambassador asked how he could best assist the GOK
to enact political reforms, which he said included not only
the reduction in constituencies but also the legalization of
political parties and the passage of a press law that
liberalized libel law and the rules for newspaper ownership.
Shaykh Nassar, while acknowledging that that U.S. support for
reform was helpful, cautioned against public statements by
the Ambassador and other U.S. officials. He contended that
U.S. support was far more effective expressed privately, as
it was during the campaign for women's political rights.
"It'll be much stronger if you whisper it," Shaykh Nassar
advised. "Let Shaykh Sabah take the credit," he added.

Getting Information About Reform into the Mix
--------------


5. (C) In order to encourage discussion about reform and
provide good advice to decision-makers, the Ambassador
suggested a nine-month "Distinguished Lecturer" series, to be
sponsored by the American-Kuwaiti Alliance (AKA),a private
group of prominent Kuwaiti businessmen dedicated to improving
bilateral relations led by Yousef Al-Ebrahim, the Prime
Minister's Economic Advisor and a former Minister of Finance,
and strongly supported by Shaykh Nassar. Such an effort would
propel debate about reform, harness outside expertise and
move the agenda forward. Shaykh Nassar seemed willing to
entertain the idea, asking at the meeting's conclusion,
"Where do we go on this?" Ambassador subsequently passed the
idea in writing to other American-Kuwaiti Alliance figures.

"He Has Accepted Me as an Advisor"
--------------

. (C) Shaykh Nassar, a liberal, pro-reform businessman and
world-reknowned collector of Islamic art, began the meeting
by clarifying his status as a formal advisor to his father,
the Prime Minister: "He has accepted me as an advisor."
Shaykh Nassar explained that together with Economic Advisor
Al-Ebrahim, he was busy organizing the Prime Minister's team
of advisors into a coherent structure. He acknowledged that
at times the Premier had received conflicting advice from
various sources, but said that he was working on formalizing
the advising process and making it more efficient.

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LEBARON