Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KUWAIT473
2007-04-03 13:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:
CABINET SWORN IN DESPITE ISLAMISTS' OBJECTIONS TO
how-toVZCZCXRO3009 PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR DE RUEHKU #0473 0931310 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 031310Z APR 07 FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8667 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS KUWAIT 000473
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KWMN KISL KU NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ISLAMISTS
SUBJECT: CABINET SWORN IN DESPITE ISLAMISTS' OBJECTIONS TO
UNVEILED EDUCATION MINISTER
REF: A. KUWAIT 447
B. KUWAIT 430
UNCLAS KUWAIT 000473
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KWMN KISL KU NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ISLAMISTS
SUBJECT: CABINET SWORN IN DESPITE ISLAMISTS' OBJECTIONS TO
UNVEILED EDUCATION MINISTER
REF: A. KUWAIT 447
B. KUWAIT 430
1. (SBU) Members of the new Cabinet were sworn in before
Parliament April 2 despite two tribal Islamists' objections
to Nouriyah Al-Sabih, the new Education Minister and a
liberal, appearing in the Assembly hall without a head scarf.
When Al-Sabih began to take the parliamentary oath of
office, MP Daifallah Bou Ramya protested loudly, saying "she
should not be allowed to take the oath because she does not
comply with Islamic regulations." Only one other tribal
Islamist MP, Khaled Al-Adwa, spoke up in agreement with Bou
Ramya, who was otherwise ignored by the rest of Parliament.
Bou Ramya continued to rant for several minutes before he was
silenced by the Speaker and the session moved on. After
Al-Sabih finished taking the oath, a number of women sitting
in the public observation balcony broke into loud applause.
2. (SBU) The other 15 Islamist MPs appeared to take a
different view of Al-Sabih's presence in Parliament. PolOff
observed controversial Salafi MP Faisil Al-Muslim conversing
cordially with Al-Sabih, a scene that set cameras flashing
throughout the hall, and after the session MP Nasser Al-Sane,
a member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM),the
political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, told press
that wearing the head scarf was Al-Sabih's "own decision."
3. (SBU) After being sworn in, Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser
Mohammed Al-Sabah delivered a speech in which he called for
increased cooperation between the government and Parliament,
and promised to submit an action plan in the next few weeks
and the government's five year development plan at the
beginning of the next parliamentary term in October.
Parliament was unusually productive during its first meeting
since the Cabinet resigned March 4, passing an
anti-monopolization law and an amendment to the parliamentary
by-laws to simplify administrative procedures. MPs also
obtained the two-thirds majority necessary to override the
government's rejection of an increase in student stipends.
********************************************* *
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
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KWMN KISL KU NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ISLAMISTS
SUBJECT: CABINET SWORN IN DESPITE ISLAMISTS' OBJECTIONS TO
UNVEILED EDUCATION MINISTER
REF: A. KUWAIT 447
B. KUWAIT 430
1. (SBU) Members of the new Cabinet were sworn in before
Parliament April 2 despite two tribal Islamists' objections
to Nouriyah Al-Sabih, the new Education Minister and a
liberal, appearing in the Assembly hall without a head scarf.
When Al-Sabih began to take the parliamentary oath of
office, MP Daifallah Bou Ramya protested loudly, saying "she
should not be allowed to take the oath because she does not
comply with Islamic regulations." Only one other tribal
Islamist MP, Khaled Al-Adwa, spoke up in agreement with Bou
Ramya, who was otherwise ignored by the rest of Parliament.
Bou Ramya continued to rant for several minutes before he was
silenced by the Speaker and the session moved on. After
Al-Sabih finished taking the oath, a number of women sitting
in the public observation balcony broke into loud applause.
2. (SBU) The other 15 Islamist MPs appeared to take a
different view of Al-Sabih's presence in Parliament. PolOff
observed controversial Salafi MP Faisil Al-Muslim conversing
cordially with Al-Sabih, a scene that set cameras flashing
throughout the hall, and after the session MP Nasser Al-Sane,
a member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM),the
political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, told press
that wearing the head scarf was Al-Sabih's "own decision."
3. (SBU) After being sworn in, Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser
Mohammed Al-Sabah delivered a speech in which he called for
increased cooperation between the government and Parliament,
and promised to submit an action plan in the next few weeks
and the government's five year development plan at the
beginning of the next parliamentary term in October.
Parliament was unusually productive during its first meeting
since the Cabinet resigned March 4, passing an
anti-monopolization law and an amendment to the parliamentary
by-laws to simplify administrative procedures. MPs also
obtained the two-thirds majority necessary to override the
government's rejection of an increase in student stipends.
********************************************* *
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