From: aaldoubo@copper.denver.colorado.edu (Ohm Salam)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast,soc.culture.arabic,soc.culture.lebanon
Subject: Challenging the Emir
Date: 6 Nov 92 03:03:45 GMT
Followup-To: talk.politics.mideast
Organization: University of Colorado at Denver

Even though this article was written before the elections in October,
there are a few good points of interest in regard to the political
system in Kuwait.


"Though the ruling al-Sabah family still tightly holds the reins,
many Kuwaitis are determined to work toward democracy"

		Challenging The Emir

July 20, 1992/Christian Science Monitor
Barbara Nimri Aziz

	Kuwaitis inch toward an October election, sparring with their ruler,
Sheik Jabar al-Sabah, over how much free speech and assembly is permissible.

	Last June, his country liberated, Kuwait's emir acceded to pressures
for democratization and announced an autumn 1992 election, the first in
seven years.

	Kuwaitis hoped the occasion would reinstate their democracy.  The
emir's announcement was hailed, even though he offered little.  Basic civil
rights (protected by the Constitution, which itself remained suspended) were
not restored; freedom of assembly is not permitted; press restrictions remained
in effect.

	Nevertheless, Kuwait's pro-democracy advocates see the anticipated
election as their chance to put the country back on a democratic track.
Despite the ban on public rallies (for which they were jailed a year before)
the backers of democracy rallied.

	Despite censorship, they criticized government; courting palace
censure, they held democrati forums and organized party-like groups (parties
too are banned, as is offical use of the words 'constitution', 'democracy',
and even 'election', according to activists).

	Kuwaiti opposition groups became more emboldened with the encouragement
of foreign visitors and diplomats and the joy they felt after regaining their
sovereignty.

	Within a year of the liberation of Kuwait, however, the public was on
notice:  cease your criticism of government, said the prime minister Crown
Prince Sheik Saad al-Sabah on March 26 of this year, or he would take tougher
measures to enforce compliance.

	There is little doubt that the emir regrets his agreement to an
election.  First, he has not followed through with his declaration that women
and 'alien-Kuwaitis' will be permitted to vote; second, he has not permitted
press freedom; third, he has not consented to the initial understanding that
his absolute powers would be suspended in preparation for the election
scheduled for this fall.

	Yet this does not deter the public.  Many Kuwaitis continued to
challenge the ruler, and they seem determined to regain their constitutional
democracy.

	During the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, many political figures endured
hardships and even faced imprisonment.  Kuwait Democratic Forum members
Abdullah Nibari and Muhammad al-Qadiri, among many others, rejected offers to
flee with their families.  Today these nationalists are at the center of a
growing group of citizens working towards the election and organized into four
quasi-parties.

	They dare to openly criticize their government.  Some foreign
ambassadors have regularly attended private diwaaniya gatherings hosted by
pro-democracy advocates.

	In January, an election campaign seminar was held.  Attended by 50 key
Kuwaiti opposition figures, it was organized by the Kuwaiti Graduate Society
in association with the National Republican Institute for International Affairs
(affiliated with the United States Republican Party).  It was addressed by
Rep. Robert Lagomarsino (R) of California, with a special message from
President George Bush and US Secretary of State James Baker III.

	Since February, the Kuwaiti rulers have taken a series of steps to
curtail pro-democracy activities.  A second electioneering seminar was planned.
Abruptly, however, last month's workshop was canceled.  So was a lecture on
democracy by a US academician.  And a Kuwaiti University-sponsored program
never took place.

	Among newspapers which are neither official nor pro-government, only
the daily al-Qabbas remains.  And US Ambassador Edward Gnehm continues to
accept private invitations to the homes of pro-democratic figures at the
expense of his friendship with the Sabahs.

	Whatever the ruling Sabahs do, occasions continue to arise to
demonstrate the vitality and threat of 'people power'.  A major confrontation
occurred a few weeks ago over the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce in
Kuwait.  Normally, the selection of officers to this agency is a quiet,
uncontested affair.

	It was never considered a political office.  But now it became coveted
by the Sabahs who recently have been actively distributing favors to friends
who might represent Sabah interests in the election.  Perhaps anticipating
difficulties at the polls, it seems they decided the Chamber of Commerce was
one institution they should control.

	They put their own candidates forward only to be met by a tremendous
backlash.  The incumbent chairman Abdul Aziz Hamid al-Sagar is know for his
consistant demands for the restoration of the constitution.

	Normally, not more than 1,000 to 1,500 Kuwaitis participate in the
eleciton of chamber seats.  This time, however, about 11,000 turned out to
vote.  The result:  23 of the 24 officers are with Sagar.  It was a graphic
refutation of government meddling.

	'The occasion became a kind of plebicite for the opposition', says
former parliamentarian Abdullah Nibari, now general secretary of the Kuwaiti
Democratic Forum.  The overwhelming support for Sagar's candidates was clearly
a victory for the anti-government forces.

	This recent tussle makes evident that the Sabahs are going to have a
tough time holding onto the reins of absolute power.

*  Barbara Nimri Aziz is an anthropologist and journalist based in New York.
She frequently travels in the Middle East.

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Anisa