INFLUENTIAL AL-SABAH EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION WITH

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 004498 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NSC FOR RAMCHAND E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA SUBJECT: INFLUENTIAL AL-SABAH EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION WITH PRIME MINISTER, PARLIAMENT REF: A. KUWAIT 4075 ¶B. KUWAIT 1911 (NOT ALL) ¶C. 05 KUWAIT 3677 ¶D. 04 KUWAIT 4540 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) Summary: In a November 17 meeting with Poloff, Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, an influential ruling family member with close ties to the Amir, expressed frustration with the Prime Minister's "weakness" and his inability to control an increasingly assertive Parliament. He complained that Parliament had "encroached" on many Executive powers and criticized the Government's "laissez-faire attitude" in allowing this to happen. Shaykh Mohammed believed the Prime Minister was trying to "re-align" by distancing himself from controversial figures like Shaykh Mohammed and former Minister of Energy Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd, but argued that he now had no one capable of "running" Parliament for him. According to Shaykh Mohammed, the Amir had not fully dismissed the possibility of dissolving Parliament unconstitutionally despite his public rejection of such a move. He claimed "legalizing" political parties would be "an ADMISSION of the weakness of the Al-Sabah family and their inability to rule," something as a member of the ruling family he was "sad to see." ¶2. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed complained that criticism of government corruption was often hypocritical. He said he opposed the five constituency electoral system because it would lead to an "unbalanced Parliament." Shaykh Mohammed said he "respected" the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM),the political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, but did not completely trust them. He argued that "Kuwaiti Hizballah" was "the same thing" as Lebanese Hizballah with "the same structure and the same funding." Shaykh Mohammed noted that drugs were becoming more prominent in Kuwait as the supply of alcohol dried up. He believed overall U.S.-Kuwait bilateral relations were very good, particularly after the Amir's visit to Washington in September; Shaykh Mohammed was a member of the Amir's delegation and attended his meetings with the President. (Refs B, C, and D report prior conversations with the Shaykh.) End summary. Shaykh Mohammed Criticized for Corruption -------------- 
¶3. (C/NF) Poloff met November 17 with Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah at his luxurious beachfront villa. Several of the Shaykh's friends were watching television in same the room and at times chimed in with their comments. The Head of the Citizens' Services Agency, the government body responsible for doling out one-time grants to citizens and for sending Kuwaitis abroad for medical treatment, and one of two surviving grandsons of former Amir Shaykh Mubarak Al-Kabir, the founder of modern Kuwait, Shaykh Mohammed is an influential, young Shaykh in the inner circle of the ruling family. On November 6, Parliament voted 32 to 21 with seven abstentions against suspending Shaykh Mohammed from his position for three months while the recently-created parliamentary committee on elections violations investigates charges he attempted to manipulate electoral outcomes in the June 2006 elections. During the session, some parliamentarians (MPs) called on the Government to close the Citizens' Services Agency, arguing that it was "a breeding ground for corruption." Liberal, opposition MP Saleh Al-Fadhala claimed Shaykh Mohammed used his position to support pro-Government candidates in the election, granting favors to their constituents in return for votes. "Shaykh Mohammed enjoys tremendous clout as he is close to some influential people and as a result he continues to be in office," Al-Fadhala said. Prime Minister "Weak"; Unable to "Run" Parliament -------------- -------------- ¶4. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed described Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser Mohammed as "too nice." After four glasses of wine, "nice" changed to "weak." Shaykh Mohammed said Shaykh Nasser was offered the job of Prime Minister based on his seniority and noted that several older Shaykhs had turned down the position, including Shaykh Nawaf Al-Ahmed, who wanted to serve only as Crown Prince. "We need someone who can run the Parliament," Shaykh Mohammed argued, citing the passage of women's suffrage legislation and the deflection of seven ministerial grillings in 2005 as examples of "our success" in getting key legislation through Parliament. (Comment: In saying "our success," Shaykh Mohammed was likely referring to himself, former Minister of Energy Ahmed Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, KUWAIT 00004498 002 OF 004 former State Minister for Cabinet/National Affairs Mohammed Sharar, and possibly Shaykh Athbi Al-Fahd, the former Director of Kuwait State Security (KSS) and Shaykh Ahmed's brother. The first three, referred to by some as "the corrupt trio," were accused of corruption and attempting to manipulate electoral outcomes during the June elections. End comment.) ¶5. (S/NF) Asked about the implications of Shaykh Ahmed's exclusion from Cabinet, Shaykh Athbi's "resignation" as KSS Director, and Parliament's strong criticism of him, Shaykh Mohammed said he believed the Prime Minister was trying to "re-align himself." "And I understand this," Shaykh Mohammed said, but argued that "now the Prime Minister doesn't have anyone capable of 'running' the Parliament for him." He complained that Parliament had "encroached on many of the powers of the Executive," a process the Government had allowed to happen by taking such a "laissez faire attitude." "As a member of the ruling family, this is sad for me to see," he said. Unconstitutional Dissolution Still a Possibility -------------- --- ¶6. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed claimed the Amir had been talking about the possibility of an unconstitutional dissolution of Parliament for months, but admitted that this was "less likely now than a couple of weeks ago" due to the strong public reaction to rumors the Amir was considering such a move. Asked why the Amir had openly discussed this possibility in meetings with the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce, the Higher Council for the Application of Islamic Shari'a, and the Speaker of Parliament, as reported by a number of our contacts, Shaykh Mohammed responded, "That's Shaykh Sabah. He is very direct." He said the Amir might still dissolve Parliament unconstitutionally if opposition MPs continued to attack the Government, adding that the "red line" would be "grilling" the Prime Minister. (Note: In a November 19 meeting with the Editors-in-Chief of several local dailies, the Amir emphatically denied rumors that he was considering dissolving Parliament unconstitutionally (i.e. for more than two months). "Reports about a plan to dissolve Parliament unconstitutionally are totally baseless. This idea has never come up at all," the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) quoted the Amir as saying. End Note.) ¶7. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed said he told the Amir he doubted the U.S. would strongly condemn such a move, arguing that the U.S. would not/not do anything to jeopardize its close relations with Kuwait. Shaykh Mohammed made no mention of widespread rumors in Kuwait that the U.S. had already given the Amir the "green light" to dissolve Parliament unconstitutionally. ¶8. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed said he told the Amir that "for an unconstitutional dissolution to be successful," the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) would need to be composed of "technocrats" with strong ties to the main political groups in Parliament. Such a Government "would need to implement an ambitious development program to be able to show people after two years that the Government had made significant accomplishments," he argued. While supporting this option, Shaykh Mohammed expressed doubt that the Government could recruit ministers of this type. He argued they would not want to work with PM Shaykh Nasser nor be a part of a Cabinet formed during a period of unconstitutional dissolution. According to Shaykh Mohammed, many competent individuals had turned down posts in the current Government for similar reasons and because they "did not want to be punching bags for Parliament." "Respect" for ICM, but Opposition to Political Parties -------------- -------------- ¶9. (S/NF) Asked his views on the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM),the political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, Shaykh Mohammed said he "liked" and "respected" the organization, but admitted later that he did not completely trust them. "They are very well organized, well funded, and transparent, at least on the surface, about what they want," which makes it easy to work with them, he explained. Shaykh Mohammed also praised the ICM's "Whip system," saying he "only need(ed) to talk to one person and I know that (the ICM's) six MPs will abide by whatever agreement we reach." ¶10. (S/NF) If working with an organized political group is easier, then why not "legalize" political parties, Poloff asked. (Note: While not technically illegal, political KUWAIT 00004498 003 OF 004 parties are not recognized by the Government nor specifically permitted under the Constitution. End note.) "We can't," Shakyh Mohammed responded. "Legalizing political parties would be an ADMISSION of the weakness of the Al-Sabah family and our inability to rule," he explained. He argued that the Al-Sabah's power lay in their control over the Council of Ministers and believed that relinquishing this authority to Parliament by allowing the assembly to elect the Prime Minister would mean a significant diminution in the power and influence of the ruling family. "As a member of the ruling family, I don't want to see this happen," he said. (Comment: Shaykh Mohammed did not distinguish between the legalization of parties and a popularly-elected Prime Minister, two separate issues that seemed synonymous in his mind. End comment.) Five Constituencies Will Lead to "Unbalanced Parliament" -------------- -------------- ¶11. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed said he opposed the five constituency electoral system because it would result in an "unbalanced Parliament" with only "four, or at most five, Shi'a MPs." He argued this would be "unfair" since Shi'a represent "at least 20 percent of the population." (Note: Most estimates put the Shi'a minority at between 30 and 35 percent of the Kuwaiti population. End note.) Asked if this was an intentional result, he said to "ask (Salafi Islamist MP) Ahmed Baqer," who drafted the proposal that was ultimately adopted. "In other words, yes," he concluded. According to Shaykh Mohammed, 27 urban and 23 tribal MPs will be elected given the current distribution of the five constituencies. "Corruption": It Depends on Who You Talk To -------------- ¶12. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed complained that criticism of Government corruption was often hypocritical: the critics were generally corrupt themselves. "Take any MP...OK, (ICM MP) Nasser Al-Sane. Al-Sane receives 200,000 KD ($692,000) per year in government contracts that we do not need. That is a form of corruption. And he is head of Arab Parliamentarians Against Corruption organization," he noted ironically. (Note: In October, Al-Sane, along with the other five members of the ICM in Parliament, made their personal financial records public to promote transparency in government (reftel). Although they encouraged other government officials to do the same, thus far none have followed their example. End note.) "Kuwaiti Hizballah" the "Same Thing" as Lebanese Hizballah -------------- -------------- ¶13. (S/NF) Shaykh Mohammed argued that "Kuwaiti Hizballah" was "the same thing" as Hizballah in Lebanon with "the same structure and the same funding." He claimed that "Kuwaiti Hizballah" directly funded Lebanese Hizballah. Shaykh Mohammed believed Hizballah was "very active" in Kuwait and mentioned MPs Adnan Abdul Samad and Ahmed Lari as members. (Comment: "Kuwaiti Hizballah" is a pejorative term used to describe pro-Iran Shi'a in Kuwait. Although we don't rule it out, we have seen no evidence to suggest there is a Hizballah branch in Kuwait with direct organizational ties to Lebanese Hizballah. MPs Samad and Lari are both members of the National Islamic Alliance (NIA),an Iran-leaning Shi'a political association, which people often refer to as "Kuwaiti Hizballah." End comment.) Shaykh Mohammed described Sayed Mohammed Baqer Al-Mohri, a prominent Shi'a cleric in Kuwait not affiliated with NIA, as "a non-entity" who "controls at most 200 people in Kuwait." Drugs More Prevalent as Alcohol Dries Up -------------- ¶14. (S/NF) On a completely different subject, Shaykh Mohammed reported that black market alcohol in Kuwait, most of which comes from Iraq, was becoming more scarce (and expensive) due to newly-installed vehicle x-ray machines on the Kuwait-Iraq border. As a result, he said drugs were becoming more prevalent. According to him, marijuana and hashish were the drugs of choice, but heroin and other hard drugs were also increasingly common. Drugs, which come primarily from Iran, were easier to smuggle into the country than alcohol, he explained. Shaykh Mohammed said ecstasy and MDA, both popular in the European rave scene, were not widely used in Kuwait. "Who wants an 'upper' in Kuwait?" one of his friends commented wryly. ¶15. (C/NF) A full bio of Shaykh Mohammed is available on our KUWAIT 00004498 004 OF 004 classified website. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * LeBaron