Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KUWAIT2239
2006-06-12 16:33:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - ELECTORAL SLOGANS, ALLIANCES, AND

Tags:  OPRC KMDR KPAO PREL KDEM PGOV KU SUFFRAGE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5785
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2239/01 1631633
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121633Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5103
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHWSMRC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002239

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA,
B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PREL KDEM PGOV KU SUFFRAGE

SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - ELECTORAL SLOGANS, ALLIANCES, AND
WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION


Block Quotes
--------------

Monday, June 12, 2006

-- Ahmed Mohamed Al-Fahd commented in the moderate daily Al-Watan
under the title "Elect the Silent Hero" (6/12): "It is not my habit
to comment on the election or its small details such as the fonts
used by candidates on their billboards, or their slogans. After all,
they are only slogans that are used for campaigning purposes. But
the slogan 'vindicator of the oppressed' for which he chose a Farsi
font should be discussed rationally and objectively. The slogan
gives the international organizations following the elections the
impression that we have a large number of oppressed. And that they
were unable throughout the history to find someone to defend them.
Therefore, the 'hero' candidate chose his slogan to challenge the
tyrannical government and authorities.... This hero candidate should
identify those oppressed whom he vindicates. Are they Kuwaitis or
Bidoons? Is the government, National Assembly, or the judiciary
their oppressor? And how many cases has he come across that made him
choose such a slogan?"

-- Dahiran Aba Al-Khail criticized in the pro-government daily
Al-Seyassah under the title "Candidates Despite the Voters' Wishes"
(6/12): "I do not know what has come over some candidates. Did they
lose their minds, were they not paying attention, or is this the end
of a brave man? Some have hesitated more than once about which
district to run in. This hesitation and inability to make decisions
makes us question whether such a candidate deserves to, god forbid,
become a Member of Parliament in the future. Will his agenda be as
hesitant, inconsistent, and unclear toward national issues that are
of concern to its citizenry? These types of candidate, who are
called 'electoral kangaroos' are good at jumping from one district
to another, belong at the Kaifan track; my respects to
track-and-field athletes as he outperforms them: they jump hurdles

and he jumps districts."

-- Mohamed Gharib Hatem editorialized in the moderate
Arabic-language daily Al-Watan under the title "The failure of
Islamic Constitutional Movement" (6/12): "Until now I have not
received a clear explanation from the Islamic Constitutional
Movement for its inability to land any of its candidates in
Parliament. They were on good terms with the government bragging
that they own the Kuwaiti street. I still remember when their top
leaders would pass by our campaign headquarters and not greet us so
as to say 'Kuwait is ours.' Today the Brethren or Islamic
Constitutional Movement is allying with the Salafis whose goal a few
years back was to eliminate the Brethren because they were their
biggest opponent."

-- Hasan Ali Karam stated in the moderate Arabic-language daily
Al-Watan under the title "No Wonder There Are Virtues Lacking"
(6/12): "The current National Assembly elections are not unique
because women are participating in them for the very first time as
equals to men. They are also not unique because they are occurring
amidst crises and disagreements that led to the dissolution of the
Assembly; nor are they unique because citizens are split between
orange, blue, green, or white and their tribes, sects, or political
unions.... Kuwait is on the brink of a grave split over interests
and acquisition of high-level positions. The parliamentary elections
have entered a dangerous downwards spiral if the battle is to be
fought with such low morals. The candidate's role is central, and
this dictates that they be virtuous first and nationalists second."

-- Researcher and writer Dr. Faris Matar Al-Waqian penned in the
pro-government daily Al-Seyassah under the title "Electoral
Candidacy Flu" (6/12): "....In conclusion, we emphasize that the
success of a candidate, before many are shocked with the results,
does not depend on moods or luxury or social or financial prestige.
It is based on modernizing the country and developing a society that
needs enlightened ideas. The type of candidates who will reach the
parliament will determine the destiny of the country and the
liveliness of its society. And so the citizens are not frustrated
because of the future MPs; they must realize that they cause
frustration by choosing candidates that do not live up to their
expectations."

-- Former Chair of Kuwait University's History Department, Najat
Nasser Al-Haji editorialized in the moderate Arabic-language daily
Al-Anbaa under the title "Candidates' Promises Between Reality and
Imagination" (6/12): "....I say to all candidates and emphasize, we
do not want service-representatives. We want representatives who put
the interests of Kuwait before their eyes and the interests of the

KUWAIT 00002239 002 OF 002


coming generations in their vision in order to promote the
foundations of progress away from melodic slogans and decorated
words. What we currently see is a large gap between what is being
said and what will occur in the 'parliament of reality.' We want
representatives who are capable of implementing the mechanisms with
which to build the future so that Kuwait may rise with all of its
citizens."

-- Engineer and Municipal Council Member, Shaykha Fawzia Salim
Al-Sabah maintained in moderate Arabic-language daily Al-Rai Al-Aam
under the title "Islamists and Women's Headquarters" (6/12): "Last
year a group of MPs who claim to be Islamists and tribalists opposed
the proposed law giving women their suffrage. It was the wish of His
Highness the departed Amir Jaber Al-Ahmed, may he rest in peace, and
it was passed despite their oppositions. They justified their
positions by claiming that it goes against the principles of Islamic
jurisprudence to which they adhere and that it is a great blight.
With the dissolution of parliament and the beginning of the
electoral battle we were surprised to see those very same persons
racing to establish women's headquarters to attract women's votes
and announcing this daily in the newspapers, forgetting their
screams in parliament. Where are their principles? Where are those
religious justifications they claimed? All that evaporated between
night and day. And they want us to believe them in the future."

-- Attorney Dr. Badria Abdullah Al-Awadi penned in the progressive
Arabic-language daily Al-Qabas under the title "Women's
Participation in the Elections.. Positives and Negatives" (6/12):
"We again warn women of relinquishing their electoral rights to any
candidate who presents slogans in which they do not believe. These
slogans come from groups or movements who shamefully had a key role
in preventing her from obtaining her basic rights as a human being.
As a result of their positions, she was held back for decades unlike
her Arab sisters. History will not forgive her if she allowed those
candidates to make her into a second-class citizen again through
voting for them."

********************************************* *
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
********************************************* *

TUELLER