FREEDOM AGENDA: OPPOSING REACTIONS TO THE NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000804 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/P, NEA/PPD, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016 TAGS: PGOV KHUM IR KU FREEDOM AGENDA SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: OPPOSING REACTIONS TO THE NEW PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS LAW REF: KUWAIT 768 Classified By: DCM Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Summary and Comment: Reactions to the newly-passed Press and Publications law (reftel) have varied widely and at times tended to hyperbole. One knowledgeable post contact sees it as a great step forward while another fears it will lead to the end of quality journalism in Kuwait. Liberals are generally critical of some of the restrictive provisions contained in the law. Despite the fact that most of our contacts express serious reservations about aspects of the law, all have welcomed its passage. Secular MPs applaud the intrinsic freedoms guaranteed by the law; Islamists see new opportunities to air their views; the "independent" bloc -- a group of pro-government deputies -- supported the law when it became clear it was destined to pass, perhaps as a way of gaining political capital for what they see as a more important upcoming fight over electoral redistricting. End Summary and Comment. Group of Local Lawyers' Oppose the Law -------------- ¶2. (U) The Al-Watan Arabic-language daily reports that the Lawyer's Association called for the withdrawal of the Press and Publications Law. The association called the law unconstitutional, with only superficial changes meant to deceive those with noble intentions, while actually strangling freedom of criticism and publication by intimidating journalists with the threat of jail time and unreasonably harsh monetary penalties for crossing vaguely worded red lines. Four MPs Pushed for Stricter Measures -------------- ¶3. (U) In contrast, a group of four independent MPs unsuccessfully tried at the last minute to add a number of amendments that would have further restricted the rights of journalists by adding all government officials to the list of those who may not be criticized. (Note: the list of those who cannot be criticized includes the Amir, the courts, and the Public Prosecution. End note.) They also wanted to increase the penalties for some offenses related to publishing material on forbidden topics. In spite of the failure of their amendments, all four voted for the measure. Media Advisor Says Law Important Step in Press Freedom -------------- -------------- �A; ¶4. (C) Dr. Ayed Al-Mana', advisor to the Kuwait Journalists Association and professor at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, told PolOffs and Political Specialist that the key development in the law is found in the role given to the courts. Previously, the Government had the final say on the licensing of newspapers. (Note: No new Arabic-language newspapers have been licensed in Kuwait since ¶1976. End Note.) The Ministry of Information still has the right to reject or approve license applications, but applicants can appeal decisions to the courts. Furthermore, whereas the old law allowed the Government to close down a newspaper directly, the new law says only a court can temporarily close down a newspaper, and it can only do so in response to a request from the Public Prosecutor's office. While Al-Mana' predicted that the high financial burden in opening a newspaper (350,000 Dinars or over 1.2 million USD) would probably inhibit the appearance of more than a few new dailies, he thought the law was an important gain for freedom of the press. Opening the Door to Extremist Ideas? -------------- ¶5. (C) Former journalist Khalid Thiyab Al-Rajhi, on the other hand, tells us he foresees a period of "chaos" and the degradation of journalistic standards. He believes that the amount of money needed to start a newspaper is not difficult for Kuwaitis to gather. The small size of the Kuwaiti market will make competition among the papers brutal. Al-Rajhi thinks the papers will resort to sensationalism and yellow journalism in order to attract readership. More ominously, he believes that the legal safeguards and punishments in the law are too weak to dissuade determined scoundrels. For instance, if the maximum punishment for unwarranted smearing of someone's character is 3,000 Dinars (USD 10290),perhaps someone would be willing to pay 6,000 Dinars to the paper to run such an article. (Comment: the slander provisions of the law are extremely important in a small country where everyone knows everyone and family reputation is extremely important. End Comment.) Whereas the Ministry used to be able to control licensing and to shut down papers easily, this will be more difficult under the new law. He fears this will lead to Iran and other outside interests either founding their own papers or influencing the existing ones. According to Al-Rajhi, the party that will suffer the most from the new law is the United States, as Islamists and Iranians use their new freedom for attacks. He said it was analogous to the situation of popular Arab satellite television stations like Al-Manar, Al-Jazeera, and Al-Arabiyya, vis-a-vis Al-Hurra, which, he said, no one watches. Notably, Al-Rajhi still favored the law because he believes in the principle of freedom of the press. ********************************************* * 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