KUWAITI MPS STILL PLUCKING THE DISSOLUTION TRIPWIRE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000214 SIPDIS NEA/ARP, E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KU SUBJECT: KUWAITI MPS STILL PLUCKING THE DISSOLUTION TRIPWIRE REF: KUWAIT 161 Classified By: POLITICAL Counselor Pete O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b and d Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) With three motions now filed to grill the PM, the Amir finds himself increasingly pushed either to act in defense of his beleaguered nephew, PM Shaykh Nasser Mohammed, and the government he leads, or to yield to the will of the disruptive, agenda-driven MPs. A cloud of uncertainty looms over the Amir and the path he will choose, but it appears increasingly likely that a decree authorizing the dissolution of parliament will be issued prior to the March 17 scheduled session of the National Assembly. End summary. Mosque Demolition Represents Third Strike -------------- ¶2. (C) On March 9, Kuwaiti politics plunged further into turmoil with an unprecedented third motion filed to interpellate PM Shaykh Nasser Mohammed. This motion by tribal Islamist MP Mohammad Hayef Al-Mutairi, filed on the heels of two motions last week, accused the PM of "being responsible for allowing the demolition of two mosques built illegally on state land." In his motion, Al-Mutairi castigated the PM on grounds that he refused to refer the head of the government agency responsible for the mosque demolitions to the office of public prosecution. The frivolous grounds of the charge are not likely to carry much weight -- rival MP Marzouq Al-Ghanim has already countered it with a promise to grill the PM if he does refer the agency head to the prosecutor -- but signify continued parliamentary aggressiveness in dealing with the GOK and a determination to bring down the PM and embarass the Amir. Grilling Agenda -------------- ¶3. (C) On March 1 and 2, respectively, MP Faisal Al-Mislim and MPs from the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) submitted motions to grill the PM. Al-Mislim's motion focused on financial irregularities at the PM's diwan, while ICM targeted the PM for his perceived ineptitude in handing crucial projects like KDOW and the Fourth Refinery and his alleged failure to invest Kuwaiti's sovereign wealth effectively (reftel). Speaker of Parliament Jassem Al-Khorafi declared that the two motions had been received too late to be included on the March 3 agenda and deferred discussion on grilling the PM to the next session scheduled for March 17. Why Wait to Dissolve? -------------- ¶4. (C) With the March 17 session looming, rumors abound of an imminent parliamentary dissolution; the media report that the Amir has already ordered the drafting of a decree to dissolve the intransigent body. Speaker Al-Khorafi complained to Ambassador on March 5 that the PM should have taken the podium and faced his detractors when first challenged, and that his ongoing refusal -- or perhaps fear -- to face questioning was now akin to putting blood in the water around the parliamentary sharks. Options Available to GOK -------------- ¶5. (C) Options available to the GOK now include referring the matter of interpellation ("grilling") to either the Constitutional Court or parliament's Legislative Committee. Both options, which could take months to produce findings, are unpalatable to MPs seeking to embarrass or dislodge the PM. If parliament actually convenes on March 17, the PM may invoke his right to ask for a two-week delay while he prepares for the grilling. Should the PM opt for these delay tactics, he would require a majority vote of support in parliament, one he is likely to secure given the assured 16 votes from his cabinet members and likely support from MPs who are either pro-government or opposed to these particular interpellation motions. Talking Points -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In the event of a dissolution, Post suggests the following draft language for press guidance: Begin points: Dissolution of Kuwait's Parliament Background: After increasing government-National Assembly strife and on the heels of a proposal by Islamist MPs to KUWAIT 00000214 002 OF 002 "grill" the Prime Minister, the Amir dissolved the National Assembly. According to the Kuwaiti Constitution, the Amir has this right, but new parliamentary elections must be held within two months of the dissolution. If not, the dissolved Assembly should be restored to its full constitutional authority and operate until new elections are held. Any other type of dissolution is referred to as "unconstitutional." Talking Points --We have seen reports that the Amir of Kuwait has dissolved Kuwait's National Assembly for an undetermined period of time. -- Kuwait is an important ally of the United States with a long and unique tradition of democratic governance. We hope this will be a temporary measure. -- We are aware that strained RELATIONS between the Government of Kuwait and the National Assembly and the resulting POLITICAL paralysis have been a source of frustration for many Kuwaitis, some of whom have called for the Parliament's dissolution. -- We strongly support Kuwait's democratic traditions and note that Parliament is only one part of that equation; democracy is also about respect for rule of law and institutions. Honest differences between the executive and legislative branches should not lead to governmental paralysis. -- We would also hope that Kuwait's well-entrenched freedom of speech, as represented by its lively press and diwaniyya tradition, will be respected during this period. End talking points. Comment: -------------- ¶7. (C) Few Kuwaitis dispute the right of MPs to grill the PM or other ministers as part of their constitutional duty, but the present motions have little merit. They appear designed to disrupt rather than improve parliament's functions. For example, many of the mosques associated with Al-Mutairi's motion to interpellate have been deemed abandoned or unsafe. They were all illegally constructed and the Ministry of Interior was within its rights to proceed with their demolition. Though there is much speculation that the Amir, in dealing with such shenanigans, will dissolve parliament, it is unclear to all -- possibly including the Amir -- when he will so move and what specific actions he will take. His options include keeping or replacing the PM (the latter would be unprecedented),and dissolving parliament constitutionally or unconstitutionally. Ironically, if he does dissolve parliament by March 17, it will mark -- possibly to the day -- the one year anniversary of last year's dissolution. The subsequent elections resulted in a cabinet/parliament that convened only three times -- not enough to cause real grief -- prior to the summer exodus. End comment. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* JONES