VZCZCXRO5785
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2239/01 1631633
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121633Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5103
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHWSMRC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002239 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, 
B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PREL KDEM PGOV KU SUFFRAGE
 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - ELECTORAL SLOGANS, ALLIANCES, AND 
WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION 
 
 
Block Quotes 
------------ 
 
Monday, June 12, 2006 
 
-- Ahmed Mohamed Al-Fahd commented in the moderate daily Al-Watan 
under the title "Elect the Silent Hero" (6/12): "It is not my habit 
to comment on the election or its small details such as the fonts 
used by candidates on their billboards, or their slogans. After all, 
they are only slogans that are used for campaigning purposes. But 
the slogan 'vindicator of the oppressed' for which he chose a Farsi 
font should be discussed rationally and objectively. The slogan 
gives the international organizations following the elections the 
impression that we have a large number of oppressed. And that they 
were unable throughout the history to find someone to defend them. 
Therefore, the 'hero' candidate chose his slogan to challenge the 
tyrannical government and authorities.... This hero candidate should 
identify those oppressed whom he vindicates. Are they Kuwaitis or 
Bidoons? Is the government, National Assembly, or the judiciary 
their oppressor? And how many cases has he come across that made him 
choose such a slogan?" 
 
-- Dahiran Aba Al-Khail criticized in the pro-government daily 
Al-Seyassah under the title "Candidates Despite the Voters' Wishes" 
(6/12): "I do not know what has come over some candidates. Did they 
lose their minds, were they not paying attention, or is this the end 
of a brave man? Some have hesitated more than once about which 
district to run in. This hesitation and inability to make decisions 
makes us question whether such a candidate deserves to, god forbid, 
become a Member of Parliament in the future. Will his agenda be as 
hesitant, inconsistent, and unclear toward national issues that are 
of concern to its citizenry? These types of candidate, who are 
called 'electoral kangaroos' are good at jumping from one district 
to another, belong at the Kaifan track; my respects to 
track-and-field athletes as he outperforms them: they jump hurdles 
and he jumps districts." 
 
-- Mohamed Gharib Hatem editorialized in the moderate 
Arabic-language daily Al-Watan under the title "The failure of 
Islamic Constitutional Movement" (6/12): "Until now I have not 
received a clear explanation from the Islamic Constitutional 
Movement for its inability to land any of its candidates in 
Parliament. They were on good terms with the government bragging 
that they own the Kuwaiti street. I still remember when their top 
leaders would pass by our campaign headquarters and not greet us so 
as to say 'Kuwait is ours.' Today the Brethren or Islamic 
Constitutional Movement is allying with the Salafis whose goal a few 
years back was to eliminate the Brethren because they were their 
biggest opponent." 
 
-- Hasan Ali Karam stated in the moderate Arabic-language daily 
Al-Watan under the title "No Wonder There Are Virtues Lacking" 
(6/12): "The current National Assembly elections are not unique 
because women are participating in them for the very first time as 
equals to men. They are also not unique because they are occurring 
amidst crises and disagreements that led to the dissolution of the 
Assembly; nor are they unique because citizens are split between 
orange, blue, green, or white and their tribes, sects, or political 
unions.... Kuwait is on the brink of a grave split over interests 
and acquisition of high-level positions. The parliamentary elections 
have entered a dangerous downwards spiral if the battle is to be 
fought with such low morals. The candidate's role is central, and 
this dictates that they be virtuous first and nationalists second." 
 
-- Researcher and writer Dr. Faris Matar Al-Waqian penned in the 
pro-government daily Al-Seyassah under the title "Electoral 
Candidacy Flu" (6/12): "....In conclusion, we emphasize that the 
success of a candidate, before many are shocked with the results, 
does not depend on moods or luxury or social or financial prestige. 
It is based on modernizing the country and developing a society that 
needs enlightened ideas. The type of candidates who will reach the 
parliament will determine the destiny of the country and the 
liveliness of its society. And so the citizens are not frustrated 
because of the future MPs; they must realize that they cause 
frustration by choosing candidates that do not live up to their 
expectations." 
 
-- Former Chair of Kuwait University's History Department, Najat 
Nasser Al-Haji editorialized in the moderate Arabic-language daily 
Al-Anbaa under the title "Candidates' Promises Between Reality and 
Imagination" (6/12): "....I say to all candidates and emphasize, we 
do not want service-representatives. We want representatives who put 
the interests of Kuwait before their eyes and the interests of the 
 
KUWAIT 00002239  002 OF 002 
 
 
coming generations in their vision in order to promote the 
foundations of progress away from melodic slogans and decorated 
words. What we currently see is a large gap between what is being 
said and what will occur in the 'parliament of reality.' We want 
representatives who are capable of implementing the mechanisms with 
which to build the future so that Kuwait may rise with all of its 
citizens." 
 
-- Engineer and Municipal Council Member, Shaykha Fawzia Salim 
Al-Sabah maintained in moderate Arabic-language daily Al-Rai Al-Aam 
under the title "Islamists and Women's Headquarters" (6/12): "Last 
year a group of MPs who claim to be Islamists and tribalists opposed 
the proposed law giving women their suffrage. It was the wish of His 
Highness the departed Amir Jaber Al-Ahmed, may he rest in peace, and 
it was passed despite their oppositions. They justified their 
positions by claiming that it goes against the principles of Islamic 
jurisprudence to which they adhere and that it is a great blight. 
With the dissolution of parliament and the beginning of the 
electoral battle we were surprised to see those very same persons 
racing to establish women's headquarters to attract women's votes 
and announcing this daily in the newspapers, forgetting their 
screams in parliament. Where are their principles? Where are those 
religious justifications they claimed? All that evaporated between 
night and day. And they want us to believe them in the future." 
 
-- Attorney Dr. Badria Abdullah Al-Awadi penned in the progressive 
Arabic-language daily Al-Qabas under the title "Women's 
Participation in the Elections.. Positives and Negatives" (6/12): 
"We again warn women of relinquishing their electoral rights to any 
candidate who presents slogans in which they do not believe. These 
slogans come from groups or movements who shamefully had a key role 
in preventing her from obtaining her basic rights as a human being. 
As a result of their positions, she was held back for decades unlike 
her Arab sisters. History will not forgive her if she allowed those 
candidates to make her into a second-class citizen again through 
voting for them." 
 
********************************************* * 
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