UPCOMING NDI PROGRAMMING IN KUWAIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000193

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

FOR NEA/PI, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, ABU DHABI FOR MEPI (HWECHSEL,
MHOPKINS)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2017
TAGS: PREL KMPI KPAO KU MEPI
SUBJECT: UPCOMING NDI PROGRAMMING IN KUWAIT

REF: A. STATE 14306

B. KUWAIT 174

Classified By: ADCM Timothy Lenderking for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) Embassy Kuwait approves of the overall direction of
the workplan set out by NDI for spending the rest of its
funding. The emphasis on building the political capacity of
women, political associations, and youth works toward the
USG's Freedom Agenda goals for Kuwait. Post offers the
following suggestions to hone the workplan and to determine
next steps.

Women
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2. (C/NF) The chairman of the parliamentary women's
committee noted to us recently that women have not gotten
involved enough in civil society (ref b). He found it
problematic that most NGOs and professional associations had
very few if any women on their boards. He felt that most
women were involved in NGOs explicitly devoted to women's
issues or saw politics and civil society only as a means to
resolving personal bureaucratic problems. Programming to
increase general female civic involvement in existing
organizations that can mobilize voters would therefore be
useful.


3. (SBU) Women complained during the last elections that
they did not have enough time to organize their campaigns.
Most of the women who are potential candidates in the next
elections do not seem to be preparing in earnest. Even if
elections do not take place until scheduled in 2010, the
planning process should begin now. There is always the
possibility of another snap election, which means women will
need to be especially proactive in their organizational
efforts. Ideally, programming in Kuwait would emphasize the
importance of starting early, perhaps by setting benchmarks
or other means of encouraging early preparations.


4. (SBU) The NDI focus on providing research about the
issues that people actually vote on is especially important.
Many, though not all, of the women who ran in the last
elections have an elite social and educational background
that makes it difficult for them to connect with many voters.
Post reiterates the importance of reaching out to women who
may not have benefited from MEPI-funded programs in the past,
and stands ready to assist NDI in identifying them.

Political "Blocs"
--------------


5. (C/NF) In Kuwaiti politics, political "blocs" refer to
the loose, undisciplined coalitions of MPs in the parliament.
A better term for the targets of NDI programming is
political associations. A key feature of Kuwaiti politics is
that the Islamist groups are generally the best organized and
most sophisticated in their outreach efforts. It is
important that other groups get the training and resources to
compete on a level playing field. The role of political
associations in Kuwait is politically sensitive and great
care must be taken in any USG-sponsored approach. There are
certain groups with whom we should not work, particularly the
Salafis. However, other Islamists enjoy great popularity and
have demonstrated a commitment to democratic politics, at
least for the foreseeable future. Excluding them might
delegitimize the entire project, and we will need to be
sensitive to this.

Youth
--------------


6. (C/NF) Post suggests that more emphasis be placed on
sustainability and follow-up in the youth-centered
programming. The suggested programming plans to work on
"organizational structures, strategic planning, membership
development, platform development, communication strategies."
These are worthwhile goals, but it might be useful to come
up with more tangible short-term projects. For instance,
each youth group could prepare two small or medium-sized
projects to complete within six months. They would present
their idea to the other groups for feedback. A follow-up
event could be held six months later to evaluate the status
of the groups' projects.

NDI Not Coordinating Activities in Kuwait Sufficiently
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7. (C/NF) Post is unsatisfied with its communications with

KUWAIT 00000193 002 OF 002


NDI. We have repeatedly requested to be kept informed of NDI
activities in country, but are frequently surprised to learn
that their representatives have been in country talking to
various groups about U.S.-funded projects. We have heard
some complaints from Kuwaiti contacts about sporadic and
disconnected NDI visits (of which the Embassy was unaware).

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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/
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