KUWAIT'S EFFORT TO APPEASE BIDOON WITH DRIVER'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000221

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KISL KU BIDOON
SUBJECT: KUWAIT'S EFFORT TO APPEASE BIDOON WITH DRIVER'S
LICENSES BACKFIRES

REF: A. 06 KUWAIT 4682

B. 06 KUWAIT 4514

Classified By: Classified by CDA Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4(b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary: After months of vague promises to ease
their plight, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) on January 6
began issuing driver's licenses to Kuwaiti Bidoon (stateless
residents) for the first time on a broad scale in many years.
The intended goodwill gesture soon gave way to
disenchantment when Bidoon realized that the licenses were
marked "illegal resident," and Bidoon leaders publicly
accused the Government of using the licenses to trap them
into giving up their citizenship claims. Issuance was
suspended on January 28. As the driver's license issue
heated up, pro-Bidoon MPs held a boisterous rally in which at
least one criticized the Ministry of Interior and prominent
ruling family members. Bidoon contacts report that urban
Kuwaitis have used their connections to the ruling family to
block steps toward Bidoon naturalization because they fear an
increase in the prominence of the Bidoon, who are primarily
from tribal ("bedouin") origins. The Bidoon also see
increasing likelihood that the lack of progress will push the
younger generation to crime and extremism. Most urban
Kuwaitis vehemently oppose granting citizenship to the
Bidoon, while human rights activists and tribal MPs are
sympathetic to the Bidoon. The GOK faces a tough decision:
inaction keeps a large, young resident population
marginalized and disenfranchised, while movement toward
naturalization is strongly opposed by a large swath of the
Kuwaiti public and will anger many influential supporters of
the ruling family. Recent rallies and parliamentary pressure
will make it difficult for the Government to keep the Bidoon
issue off the agenda. Providing the Bidoon increased civil
rights and postponing the citizenship issue would buy it some
time. End Summary.

GOK Issues Driving Licenses Then Stops Amid Controversy
-------------- --------------


2. (U) The Ministry of Interior (MOI) began granting
driver's licenses to Bidoon (stateless residents) on January
6 after a year of increasingly heated public debate about how
to deal with Kuwait's 100,000-plus stateless population.
Until the mid-1980s the Bidoon were treated like Kuwaiti
citizens in almost all respects: they were able to get jobs,
study abroad or get medical treatment at government expense,
and travel in and out of the country freely. However, in the
mid-1980s and especially after Kuwait's liberation, the GOK
began to view the Bidoon as a security issue, and withdrew
many of the government benefits that had been available in
the past. Simple matters such as getting birth certificates,
driver's licenses, and other official documents became nearly
impossible without influential (or corrupt) connections, and
Bidoon were excluded from government schools and most
government and private-sector jobs.


3. (U) Throughout 2006 the GOK leaked countless vague
pledges to resolve the Bidoon problem but took no tangible
action. In an effort to appease the increasingly vocal
Bidoon movement, the MOI announced in late December that it
would start issuing driver's licenses to Bidoon. The MOI
received thousands of applications and issued hundreds of
licenses. However, Bidoon and Bidoon supporters almost
immediately began complaining that the nationality field on
the licenses said "illegal resident," a more pejorative term
than Bidoon (which is short for "bidoon jinsiyya" or "without
citizenship"). Bidoon suspected that the whole operation was
a trick by the government to get documented admissions by the
Bidoon that their presence in the country is illegal, which
could be later used to deny their claims to citizenship. MOI
Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Thabet
Al-Mahanna responded to the crisis by ordering the Department
on January 28 to stop issuing licenses until the naming
crisis could be resolved.

An Increasingly Volatile Political Issue
--------------


4. (C) Kuwaiti politicians walk a fine line on the Bidoon
issue reflecting a sharply divided public opinion. Urban
Kuwaitis see the Bidoon as uncultured foreigners hiding their
true identities to try to freeload off the generous Kuwaiti
social welfare state. Human rights activists and tribal MPs
(most Bidoon come from the tribal MPs' districts) have
decried the hardships faced by the Bidoon and have raised the
profile of the Bidoon through the media and public rallies.
Sectarian and tribal rivalries also divide those who support

KUWAIT 00000221 002 OF 003


or oppose Bidoon naturalization. For instance, some Sunnis
claim that a large percentage of the Bidoon are Shi'a, which
they worry would upset Kuwait's sectarian balance. Tribal MP
Khudeir Al-Enezi gave PolOff a detailed breakdown of the
tribal affiliations of Kuwaiti citizens and Bidoon, arguing
that certain tribes fear a loss in power if the Bidoon are
naturalized. If the GOK ever decides to naturalize
significant numbers of Bidoon, there could be a ferocious
struggle between different parties competing to naturalize
"their" Bidoon.


5. (C) The power of the issue was evident in a rally held
on January 23 in the heavily-Bidoon governorate of Jahra.
The rally drew thousands of people, putting it on par with
the biggest political gatherings in recent memory in Kuwait.
A number of MPs from the parliamentary committee on Bidoon
affairs attended and both Bidoons and Kuwaitis made
impassioned speeches criticizing the Government. MP Khudeir
Al-Enezi brazenly leveled harsh criticism at the Assistant
Undersecretary for Passport and Citizenship Affairs (Shaykh
Ahmad Al-Nawwaf Al-Sabah),who is the son of the Crown
Prince. Several days later, on January 28, Ministry of
Interior officials attended a meeting of the parliamentary
Bidoon committee. According to one newspaper, Al-Enezi
distanced himself from the rally even though he had actually
offered to host the event in his diwaniyya. The media quoted
him as saying that he merely accepted an invitation and had
even reprimanded the harshest critics for going too far. The
media also quoted Parliamentary Bidoon Committee Chair Hassan
Jowhar trying to distance himself from the rally (which he
attended). The Al-Seyassah and Al-Watan dailies printed
stories about Al-Enezi and other unnamed MPs going back on
their public pronouncements of support for Bidoon
naturalization by encouraging the MOI in private to continue
the work of the controversial "Executive Committee on Illegal
Residents," which has been accused of coercing Bidoon into
claiming non-Kuwaiti nationalities. Al-Enezi told PolOffs
that the papers were twisting the truth to embarrass him.
Whatever the case, the tension between Bidoon sympathizers
and opponents is clearly rising.

Bidoon: Urban Clique Holding Back Reform
--------------


6. (C) On February 3, PolOff visited a small diwaniyya
south of Kuwait City frequented by Shia Bidoon to get a
Bidoon perspective on recent events. The Bidoon made their
familiar complaints about difficulties in obtaining work and
official documents. They then offered a candid assessment of
why the Government has still not addressed the problem. A
Bidoon Shia cleric named Nasser Musa Al-Neamah said there is
a group of ten families who enjoy a cozy relationship with
the ruling Al-Sabah family. These ten families, he noted,
get the bulk of the lucrative government contracts and fear
that an increase in the number of Kuwaiti citizens will
spread these spoils thin. Because of their economic power,
they are able to influence the ruling family. To illustrate
the point, another attendee noted that in June of 2006 the
Prime Minister signaled his intention to solve the Bidoon
problem within three months. However, the attendee
continued, a group of urban MPs including liberals Faisal
Al-Shaya, Salah Fadhalah, Mohammad Jassem Al-Sager, Ali
Al-Rashed, independent Islamist Adel Al-Sar'awi,
liberal/pro-Government MP Marzouq Al-Ghanim, and
Salafi-leaning Ahmad Baqer approached the Prime Minister and
dissuaded him. These liberal and Islamist MPs are generally
considered political opponents in other contexts, but they
are all "hadhar" (which roughly translates to "urban" or
"settled," and is historically connected with the trading
class) MPs. Most Bidoons come from outlying areas of the
city and are considered "bedouin." (Comment: Though such a
conspiracy is unverifiable, it is true that a tight
relationship between a small number of merchant families and
the ruling Al-Sabah family goes back long before the
establishment of the State of Kuwait. Shi'a-Sunni and
Islamist-Liberal conflicts within Kuwait society tend to
attract more attention from outside observers, but the
tribal-urban split is equally powerful, as evidenced by the
tribal-urban vote split in the December 19 vote against
writing off Kuwaitis' personal loans (ref A). End comment.)

Bidoon Could Pose Security Problem
--------------


7. (C) The Bidoon at the diwaniyya noted their concern over
the younger generation, which has grown up with few rights or
privileges. They claimed that until a few years ago the
Bidoon had very low rates of crime and drug use and few
connections to extremist groups, despite their poverty. They

KUWAIT 00000221 003 OF 003


attributed this to a sense of loyalty to their country,
perhaps earned in the 1980s and earlier when Bidoon enjoyed
substantial civil benefits. The group gathered at the
diwaniyya worried that the younger generation, many of whom
have little or no schooling as a result of GOK policies, does
not have the same loyalty and has been drifting toward crime,
drugs, and extremism. They agreed that a failure to make
concrete steps on the Bidoon issue soon would create a
security threat for Kuwait. They urged a strong U.S. stand
in favor of the Bidoon. They claimed that the USG actively
speaks out on other human rights issues in Kuwait, but has
kept silent on Kuwait's most prominent problem: treatment of
the Bidoon (Note: the Bidoon issue features prominently in
State Department's annual human rights report and Embassy
officials have raised it with Kuwaiti officials recently).

The Bidoon Issue Takes on a Life of its Own
--------------


8. (C) Many close observers of Kuwaiti politics note that
the momentum given to the Bidoon issue by MPs, various civil
society groups, and several ruling family members who have
championed their cause will make it hard for the Government
to continue ignoring the problem. According to Mubarak
Al-Shimmary, the leader of the Popular Committee to Support
the Bidooon, the gathering honoring Bidoon veterans on
February 12 managed to extract a commitment from several MPs
to work for naturalizing Bidoon veterans and survivors of
those killed in action. The Government is in a difficult
position, however. Ideally, it would settle the issue soon,
since the problem will only get worse if it takes no action.
However, announcing a final decision on the matter will
involve definitively declaring some Bidoon permanently
ineligible for citizenship. For instance, Shaykh Ahmad
Nawwaf told PolCounselor and PolOff on February 4 that the
Government has records proving that only about 5,000 of the
91,000 Bidoon registered with the Executive Committee
actually deserve citizenship. The Shia Bidoon at the
diwaniyya asserted that the Government has evidence that
5,000 families, which translates into 37,000 people, have
legitimate claims to Bidoon citizenship. Indeed, the
Government has said that approximately 40,000 of the 91,000
Bidoon have pre-1965 residency ties, which would entitle them
to citizenship if they do not have security violations on
their record. However, if Shaykh Ahmad's statement reflects
the GOK's intentions, the exclusion of 85,000 Bidoon will
create a major problem. Whereas Bidoon now fear running
afoul of the law because the GOK could use that against them
in determining their citizenship, those who are declared
ineligible will have nothing left to lose.

GOK Declares it Will Act Soon
--------------


9. (C) Shaykh Ahmad Nawwaf recently announced that within
two months he would deliver the citizenship files of all the
Bidoon to the cabinet (which has the legal power to grant
citizenship). The Minister of Interior also reportedly told
the parliamentary Bidoon Committee that a solution would be
presented within several months. The GOK has made many such
promises before, so many Bidoon are skeptical. But never
before has there been such an active parliamentary and civil
society effort to keep the Bidoon issue on the frontburner.
Perhaps the GOK's best solution would be to relieve the
immediate pressure on the Bidoon by granting them the civil
documents they need, allowing them to work, and admitting
their children to government schools. Another step would be
to grant citizenship to the Bidoon veterans of Kuwait's
military campaigns, since it would be politically difficult
to question the citizenship credentials of those who fought
for the country. Either way, the Government could then claim
significant progress while it decided what to do with the
Bidoon over the long term. If left to fester, the problem
will grow exponentially as generations of Bidoon reach
adulthood with few prospects and a growing sense of anger and
frustration.

********************************************* *
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