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