READOUT OF NDI MEETINGS WITH KUWAITI POLITICAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000508

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KMPI MEPI KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: READOUT OF NDI MEETINGS WITH KUWAITI POLITICAL
ASSOCIATIONS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matt Tueller for reason 1.4 (d)


1. (C) Summary: Senior NDI representative for Kuwait Kelley
Jones briefed PolOffs on her April 3-7 meetings with Kuwaiti
political associations. She said the organizations were open
to receiving NDI training and assistance, but liberal groups
expressed concerns about being viewed as too closely
affiliated with an American NGO. To address these concerns,
the Chairman of Kuwait Graduates Society suggested using his
organization as an umbrella for the training programs, the
approach preferred by Post. NDI will return later this month
to conduct follow-on meetings with the associations to
identify specific areas of need and develop possible training
programs. End summary.


2. (C) PolOffs met April 7 with Kelley Jones, the National
Democratic Institute's (NDI) Senior Representative for
Kuwait, for a debrief of her April 3-7 meetings with a number
of local political associations (political parties have no
legal status in Kuwait) arranged by post. Jones met with the
Secretary Generals of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA,

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liberal),the Kuwait Democratic Forum (KDF, liberal),the
National Democratic Movement (NDM, liberal),the Justice and
Peace Grouping (moderate Shi'a),and the Islamic National
Consensus Movement (INCM, moderate Shi'a). In addition, she
met with MP Nasser Al-Sane, the Assistant Secretary General
of the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM),the political
arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, and independent
liberal MPs Saleh Al-Fadhala and Ali Al-Rashed. Overall,
Jones was positive about her interactions with the political
associations and the opportunities for further engagement.
She said the groups were receptive to receiving NDI
assistance and training aimed at helping them improve their
organizational structure, strategic planning, membership
recruitment, public relations, and youth outreach.


3. (C) Jones believed the three liberal political
associations and the Justice and Peace Grouping would benefit
most from NDI assistance since they were the most poorly
organized, particularly when compared to the ICM, which in
her view was highly organized and very sophisticated in its
operations. However, she said all three liberal
organizations expressed concern that by receiving training
from NDI they could be labeled as too pro-American, something
their critics already accuse them of. The ICM and the
Justice and Peace Grouping did not/not share these concerns
and seemed very open to working with NDI. Al-Sane stressed
the importance of including as many political associations as
possible in any training program to avoid being seen as
biased in favor of liberals, something he suggested many
Kuwaitis' already believed about NDI's activities in Kuwait.


4. (C) Saud Al-Enezi, the Chairman of the Kuwait Graduates
Society and a member of the NDA, suggested the training
programs could be conducted under the umbrella of the Kuwait
Graduates Society, a well-respected, legal NGO, in
partnership with NDI. This way, the Kuwait Graduates Society
could be responsible for inviting participants to training
seminars, not NDI, thus alleviating the liberal
organizations' concerns about being seen as too closely
affiliated with NDI. Al-Sane suggested another alternative:
the leaders of the political associations could meet and
agree on training needs, then approach NDI jointly to request
assistance in these areas. He believed this approach would
foster cooperation between the political associations and
would be acceptable to the government. Jones was somewhat
skeptical that the liberal organizations would be willing to
cooperate in such a way with Islamist groups, given the often
contentious relations between them. PolOffs advised that
working through the Kuwait Graduates Society was Post's
preferred approach.


5. (C) Jones said Peter Dimitroff, NDI's Country Director
for Yemen who attended most of the meetings in Kuwait, would
conduct follow-on meetings with the political associations at
the end of April to identify specific areas of need and begin
developing possible training programs.

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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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Tueller