KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION -- TIP and GCC Foreign Ministers'

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000666

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO XF KU KWMN MEDIA REACTION

SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION -- TIP and GCC Foreign Ministers'
Collective Statement

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SUMMARY
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008


1. (U) Summary and Comment. A limited amount of press coverage
immediately followed the U.S Department of State's June 4 release of
the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. However, there
since has been a plethora of articles, editorials, and op-eds
responding to the report's contents. Although most of the articles
offer scathing criticisms of the report's contents, some laud the
report for bringing to light the problem of human trafficking in
Kuwait. Additionally, all local English and Arabic language dailies
carried articles about the June 10 GCC Foreign Ministers' joint
statement, which characterized the report as "unfriendly" to the GCC
countries. This cable highlights some of the subsequent press
coverage of the TIP report, as well as the press coverage of the
June 10 statement. End Summary and Comment.


2. (U) Block Quotes:

-- Commentator from al-Rai, a moderate Arabic language daily,
Mubarak Mohammed Al-Hajiri criticized the findings of the TIP report
in a column headlined, "The U.S. is on the Black List" Mr. Al-Hajiri
wrote (06/11): "If your house is built of glass, then you should not
start throwing stones. The U.S. arrogantly accuses us and other GCC
countries of violating human rights while the U.S. is built on the
remains and scalps of the Red Indians. Those who survived of that
nation are still suffering from oppression and the deprivation of
their human rights. The U.S. State Department ought to assess its
domestic problems every now and then. This proves to us that the
U.S. political house is built of glass. This house is tottering and
doomed to fail. The U.S. with its ridiculous and contradictory
reports has opened doors that it had better keep closed."

-- Under the headline "Please Shut Up," liberal columnist Hassan
Al-Issa wrote in the liberal Arabic language daily Al-Qabas (06/11):
"Neither the Government of Kuwait nor the committee council that
was formed to study the habits of foreigners who have invaded our
society must have heard of the proverb that says if you were
infected with vice then you should hide. Otherwise they would not
have made these ridiculous claims in Kuwait's response to the U.S.
Department of State Trading in Persons report. The government's
statements have made us look even worse in the eyes of the world.
The government should have kept silent, or at least said
transparently that we were too busy with our domestic affairs, and
have not paid attention to the cases of imported laborers. We were
trying to appease our members of parliament and their grilling of
our ministers, and forgot about the human rights of domestic
workers. How can officials not believe these workers when they keep
reading about domestic workers jumping from windows and hanging
themselves from trees? The Government of Kuwait and this council
should remain silent because they have given us a foolish
demonstration on how to handle this case."

-- Mohammed Al-Shummary wrote in the Arabic language pro-government
daily Al-Anbaa (06/11): "It's true that Kuwait as a country should
not be blamed for what some immoral people are doing in terms of
human rights violations, but it is strange to witness the continued
leniency in dealing with these violators. These are things that are
captured by the annual reports against Kuwait, which show the many
human rights violations are committed in Kuwait."


3. (U) All Arabic and English Kuwaiti dailies reported from regional
and international news agencies on the GCC Foreign Minister's June
10 meeting in Jeddah. Some papers -- such as Al-Anbaa, Alam
Al-Yawm, and Al-Rai -- reprinted the entire closing statement issued
by the G.C.C. Ministers. All the other Kuwaiti dailies published
only the statement pertaining to the TIP report: "The Council
expresses deep regret at the false information released by a report
issued by the U.S. State Department, recently accusing the GCC
countries of human trafficking." The statement went onto say that
the information aims at exerting political pressure on the GCC
states, calling on the U.S. State Department to review its
"unfriendly policies" towards the GCC member states.

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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/

KUWAIT 00000666 002 OF 002


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JONES