AMIR'S ATTEMPT TO QUELL RULING FAMILY DISPUTES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000566

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
NOFORN

STATE FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2022
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SUBJECT: AMIR'S ATTEMPT TO QUELL RULING FAMILY DISPUTES
ONLY A TEMPORARY SOLUTION

REF: A. KUWAIT 522

B. 06 KUWAIT 4498

C. 06 KUWAIT 4430

Classified By: Charge d'Affairs Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
)


1. (SBU) Summary and comment: In a rare meeting of senior
Al-Sabah family members April 14, Amir Shaykh Sabah issued a
strong warning not to air intra-ruling family rivalries in
public via proxies and stressed that he had no intention to
dissolve Parliament or amend the constitution. The Crown
Prince and Shaykh Salem Al-Ali, the most senior member of the
other leading branch of the Al-Sabah family, also spoke,
emphasizing their loyalty to the Amir and urging ruling
family members to set aside their differences. In a
significant symbolic gesture, National Security Bureau
President Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd, whose aspirations to the
emirate many believe are at the heart of the divisions within
the ruling family, kissed the head of Defense/Interior
Minister Shaykh Jaber Al-Mubarak as a sign of reconciliation
and respect. Kuwaitis across the board praised the Amir's
"clear and unequivocal" commitment to the constitution and
denial of any plans to dissolve the Parliament.


2. (C/NF) Summary and comment (continued): The Amir's
comments do little to resolve the underlying problems at the
root of the internal ruling family rivalries: the weakness of
the Crown Prince and Prime Minister and the ambitions of
younger Shaykhs, particularly Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd. Given
the Amir's age and health problems, ambitious ruling family
members are likely to continue to jockey to position
themselves for one of the country's top leadership positions
when Shaykh Sabah dies. Some like Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd may
feel this is their only shot at power, believing that further
democratic reforms, if unchecked, could undermine the ruling
family's dominant role in the decision-making process. The
Amir's denial of plans to dissolve Parliament or amend the
constitution are similar to statements he made last fall and
unlikely to be the final word on the subject.
Parliamentarians and political leaders likely trumpeted the
Amir's "commitment" to the constitution and denial of any
intention to dissolve the Parliament to make it harder for
him to do exactly that at some point in the future. End
summary and comment.


3. (SBU) Amir Shaykh Sabah called a rare meeting of nearly
200 senior Al-Sabah family members April 14 in an attempt to
control increasingly bitter and public intra-ruling family
disputes. The meeting comes amid rumors the Amir was
considering dissolving Parliament unconstitutionally (i.e.
for more than two months),and less than a week after veteran
opposition MP Ahmed Al-Saadoun warned that the Al-Sabah
regime would end if the constitution were amended, an
unprecedented and highly controversial statement that has
drawn considerable criticism from many Kuwaitis. According
to press reports, the Amir was very direct and issued a
strong warning to family members not to air personal
rivalries and disputes in public by attacking each other
through proxies in newspapers or in diwaniyas. He urged
Al-Sabah family members to resolve their differences and set
an example for the rest of Kuwait. Shaykh Sabah told family
members that if they had a problem they could go to the
Family Council or the Crown Prince, and if they were still
not happy "my doors are always open." In addition, the Amir
announced the formation of a committee to address ruling
family problems.


4. (C/NF) The Amir also stressed that he had "no intention
to amend the constitution" and had "never thought of
dissolving the Parliament either constitutionally or
unconstitutionally." (Comment: According to numerous
contacts, including one influential Al-Sabah (ref B),the
Amir openly discussed the possibility of dissolving
Parliament unconstitutionally in three separate meetings last
November, including one with the Chamber of Commerce (ref C).
After strong public opposition to such a move, Shaykh Sabah
told the Editors-in-Chief of Kuwait's top dailies that he had
never considered an unconstitutional dissolution, an
assertion no one dared contradict publicly. End comment.)
The Amir added that he had listened to a recording of
Al-Saadoun's statements and agreed that they had been
"distorted" by the press. He said he "appreciated"
Al-Saadoun's comments and took them as "advice." "The
problem is not in the constitution, but rather in you (ruling
family members)...as all of you want to be ministers and
fight, and shift your fights to the media," Shaykh Sabah
concluded.


KUWAIT 00000566 002 OF 003



5. (SBU) Crown Prince Shaykh Nawaf Al-Ahmed and Shaykh Salem
Al-Ali Al-Salem, the Chief of the National Guard and the most
senior member of the Al-Salem branch of the Al-Sabah family,
also spoke at the meeting. They emphasized their allegiance
to the Amir and called for Al-Sabah family unity. According
to press reports, at the request of Deputy National Guard
Chief Shaykh Mishal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber, National Security
Bureau President Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd kissed Defense/Interior
Minister Shaykh Jaber Al-Mubarak on the forehead as a sign of
reconciliation and great respect. Many Kuwaitis believe the
meeting was meant as a message to Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd, the
former Minister of Energy and a close confidant of the
Amir's, and other young, ambitious Al-Sabah family members
whose jockeying for future leadership positions has divided
the ruling family.

The Frontlines in the Al-Sabah Power Struggle
--------------


6. (C/NF) Ahmed Deyain, a well-connected political analyst
and writer, told PolOffs April 4, prior to the ruling family
meeting, that the source of the family's internal tensions
was the battle being waged by Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd and his
supporters, including Speaker of Parliament Jassem
Al-Khorafi, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Watan (Arabic daily)
Khalifa Ali Al-Khalifa, and to some extent the Amir, against
Shaykh Jaber Al-Mubarak, Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser
Mohammed, and Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Shaykh Nasser
Sabah Al-Ahmed, the Amir's son. According to Deyain, more
than just future leadership positions are at stake. He
claimed the two groups differed fundamentally in their views
on how the country should be governed. Deyain, who clearly
sides with the Prime Minister's camp, argued that Shaykh
Ahmed Al-Fahd and those around him opposed democratic reform
and wanted to weaken Parliament and continue to rule through
patronage, as has traditionally been done in this tribal
society. Deyain said the Prime Minister, Shaykh Jaber
Al-Mubarak, and Shaykh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmed, on the other
hand, believed in working with Parliament and within Kuwait's
constitutional framework, and recognized that Kuwait's
constitution was unique in that it enshrined the Al-Sabah's
role in Kuwait's political system, a role they could lose if
the constitution were tampered with, as Al-Saadoun argued.


7. (C/NF) Deyain believed tensions had risen to a "boiling
point" recently due to the poor health of the Amir, which
prompted "all those ambitious for power to move quickly (to
secure their positions)." (Comment: In an April 15 meeting
with PolOff, prominent Shi'a businessman Anwar Bukhamseen
said someone in the Amir's office told him that the Amir
complained in a recent meeting that he was having problems
with his prostate in addition to his heart problems. End
comment.) Deyain said these tensions were exacerbated by the
weakness of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and the
Amir's "unprecedented centralization of decision-making
authority." He claimed, as have many other contacts, that
Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd engineered the grilling of former
Minister of Health Shaykh Ahmed Abdullah, which lead the
entire Cabinet to resign, to undermine Shaykh Nasser
Mohammed's government and prove the Cabinet could not
function without him. When the Cabinet resigned, Deyain said
Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd lobbied hard (but unsuccessfully) to be
appointed Minister of Interior, in part to weaken Shaykh
Jaber Al-Mubarak and perhaps reinstate his brother Shaykh
Athbi Al-Fahd, who was dismissed as Director of Kuwait State
Security in November by Shaykh Jaber Al-Mubarak. Deyain
claimed Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd was also behind Al-Watan's
"onslaught" against Shaykh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmed, one of his
main political rivals, over the past month. On the Al-Sabah
meeting, Deyain cautioned that words alone would not resolve
the bitter disputes within the ruling family.

Kuwaitis Praise Amir's Commitment to Constitution
-------------- --------------


8. (SBU) Kuwaitis across the board praised the Amir's "clear
and unequivocal" commitment to the constitution and denial of
any plans to dissolve the Parliament. They also welcomed his
efforts to settle disputes within the ruling family. Speaker
of Parliament Jassem Al-Khorafi reaffirmed the Kuwaiti
people's loyalty to the Al-Sabah leadership and said the
ruling family meeting demonstrated "the love, loyalty, and
dedication...of the rulers to (the Kuwaiti) people," local
press reported April 15. MP Mohammed Jassem Al-Sager, the
Chairman of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said the
Amir's speech came at "the right time" and "underscored the
deep-rootedness of the ruling regime and its democratic,
contractual, and constitutional nature." MP Mishari
Al-Anjari said Shaykh Sabah's comments had "put an end to

KUWAIT 00000566 003 OF 003


rumors circulated occasionally on the unconstitutional
dissolution of Parliament or the revision of the constitution
in an unconstitutional manner." Other MPs and political
leaders expressed similar views and called on the ruling
family to close its ranks for the unity and stability of the
country.

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