Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KUWAIT487
2007-04-04 13:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

PARLIAMENT PASSES LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION

Tags:  PGOV PREL IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4502
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #0487/01 0941347
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 041347Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8695
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000487 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR NEA/IR AND NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, ISLAMISTS
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT PASSES LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION
AGREEMENT WITH IRAN, DEFERS ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT

REF: KUWAIT 4435 AND PREVIOUS

Sensitive But Unclassified; not for Internet distribution.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000487

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR NEA/IR AND NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, ISLAMISTS
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT PASSES LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION
AGREEMENT WITH IRAN, DEFERS ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT

REF: KUWAIT 4435 AND PREVIOUS

Sensitive But Unclassified; not for Internet distribution.


1. (SBU) Summary: On April 3, Parliament ratified 20
international agreements, including a security cooperation
agreement with Iran in the field of drug trafficking and law
enforcement. However, parliamentarians objected strongly to
an Article 98 agreement with the U.S. and referred it to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for "clarification." Islamist
MPs used the opportunity to slam U.S. policies in general,
particularly the continued detention of four Kuwaiti citizens
at Guantanamo. Independent, tribal Islamist MPs were
particularly vitriolic in their criticism, calling the U.S.
"the sole source of terror in the world" and urging their
fellow parliamentarians to "reject bowing to American wishes
since America is biased in favor of Zionism and America's
decisions emanate from the Zionist lobby." Although the
parameters of the Kuwait-Iran security cooperation agreement
were fairly limited, several local press reports portrayed
the session as a victory for Iran and a blow to the U.S. End
summary.


2. (SBU) Parliament ratified 20 international agreements
during its April 3 session, some of which had languished on
the parliamentary agenda for years. Among the agreements
passed was a security cooperation agreement with Iran focused
primarily on combating drug trafficking and increasing law
enforcement cooperation. According to local press, the
agreement, signed between the Interior Ministers of Kuwait
and Iran in 2000, is "aimed at boosting the two countries'
efforts in fighting drugs and terrorism and calls for the
extradition of criminals." Post obtained a copy of the
agreement, which outlined areas of cooperation, including
preventing naval piracy, smuggling, organized crime, and drug
trafficking. Article 6 of the agreement gave either country
the right to "abstain from executing any request by the other
party if it believes that this request would infringe on its
sovereignty or violate its national security or its laws."
Parliament also passed legal and judicial cooperation
agreements with Iran and several other countries.



3. (SBU) Parliament postponed voting on the Article 98
agreement between the U.S. and Kuwait, which would prevent
American citizens in Kuwait from being tried by the
International Criminal Court (reftel). The agreement was
referred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for
"clarification." During the debate on the issue, few
parliamentarians seemed to understand the details of the
agreement. Instead, Islamist parliamentarians used the
opportunity to slam U.S. policies in general. Shi'a MP Adnan
Abdul Samad, a member of the conservative, Iran-leaning Shi'a
political association, the National Islamic Alliance (NIA),
noted that the U.S. was not party to the Rome Statute,
through which the ICC was created, and argued that the
Article 98 agreement "only serves the U.S." and would cause
Kuwait to violate its ICC obligations.


4. (SBU) Salafi MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei claimed some
Kuwaitis in the U.S. were subject to "tough measures," while
Americans in Kuwait were "treated like masters." "We respect
the role played by the United States in the liberation of
Kuwait, but nobody should be above the law," he said.
Al-Tabtabaei also noted that Kuwaiti citizens were still
being detained at Guantanamo, where he claimed the were
subjected to torture, citing several recent interviews by
local press of former Kuwaiti Guantanamo detainees. Even
liberal MP Mohammed Jassem Al-Sager, the Chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, which previously approved the
agreement, said his committee agreed that it should be
"withdrawn until we have representatives from the Foreign
Ministry explain to us the details of the agreement."


5. (SBU) Independent, tribal Islamist MPs were particularly
vitriolic in their criticism. MP Abdullah Akkash, from the
Mutran tribe, accused the U.S. of being "the sole source of
terror in the world" and trying to "weaken Muslim peoples and
countries." "The U.S. is exerting pressure on other
countries to achieve its goals," he added. "Kuwait should
never bow to the wishes of America." Another independent
Islamist MP, Khaled Al-Adwa, from the Ajman tribe, similarly
slammed the U.S. "There should be a voice in Parliament that
would say to America, particularly the ruling junta, 'No!'
Our sons are detained in Guantanamo and the most horrible
means of torture are used against them. The world is sick of
savage American hegemony. America should respect the people
of the Arabian Gulf....We should reject bowing to American
wishes since America is biased in favor of Zionism and

KUWAIT 00000487 002 OF 003


America's decisions emanate from the Zionist lobby." He
finished his rant by predicting the Article 98 agreement
would be rejected when it eventually came to a vote in
Parliament.


6. (SBU) Some local press portrayed Parliament's actions as
a victory for Iran and a blow to the U.S. On April 4, the
Kuwait Times (local English daily) ran a front-page article
on the session under the headline "MPs court Iran, blast US
double-standards: Assembly ratifies Iran security pact,
rejects US ICC deal." Articles in local Arabic press were
not as prominent, but reported the session in a similar vein,
such as one article under the headline "Ferocious Islamic
onslaught obstructs the ratification of defendants' exchange
agreement between Kuwait and the United States." The Arab
Times' (local English daily) coverage was less provocative,
running an article on the second page under the headline "MPs
see Iran as 'main source' of drugs, arms smuggled into
Kuwait." The front page was dominated by an article titled
"US to attack Iran by end April" (septel).


7. (SBU) The 20 agreements ratified by Parliament were:

Bilateral Agreements:

-- Kuwait-Algeria: Agreement on avoiding double taxation and
prohibiting income tax evasion.

-- Kuwait-India: Agreement on avoiding double taxation and
prohibiting income tax evasion.

-- Kuwait-India: Agreement on judicial and legal cooperation
related to extradition of criminals.

-- Kuwait-India: Agreement on legal assistance on questions
related to criminal prosecution.

-- Kuwait-India: Agreement on legal and judicial cooperation
on civil and commercial questions.

-- Kuwait-Iran: Agreement on security cooperation in the
field of drug trafficking and law enforcement.

-- Kuwait-Iran: Agreement on legal and judicial cooperation
in the areas of civil, commercial, criminal, and personal
status articles.

-- Kuwait-South Africa: Agreement on encouraging and
protecting investments.

-- Kuwait-South Korea: Agreement on encouraging and
protecting investments.

-- Kuwait-Spain: Agreement on encouraging and protecting
investments.

-- Kuwait-Uzbekistan: Agreement on combating crime.

-- Kuwait-Zimbabwe: Bilateral agreement on avoiding double
taxation and prohibiting income and capital tax evasion.

International Agreements:

-- Draft law approving Kuwait's acceptance of the
International Telecommunications Union approved in Marrakech,
Morocco in 2002.

-- Draft law approving Kuwait's acceptance of the protocol on
combating the manufacture and illegal trade of fire arms,
fire arm components, and ammunition supplementing the UN
Agreement on Combating Transnational Organized Crime.

-- Draft law approving Kuwait's acceptance of the
International Agreement on Prohibition of Pollution from
ships for the year 1973.

-- Draft law approving Kuwait's agreement to ban the use,
production, storage, or transportation of anti-personnel
mines.

-- Draft law approving Kuwait's acceptance of the Beijing
1999 amendment to the Montreal Protocol on materials
depleting the ozone layer for the year 1987.

-- Draft law approving documents on the 23rd Conference of
the International Postal Union held in Bucharest, Romania in

2004.


KUWAIT 00000487 003 OF 003


-- Draft law agreeing to a unified law for combating and
preventing dumping among GCC countries.

-- Draft law approving several resolutions issued by the Arab
League Council.

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