Kuwaiti Foreign Minister on Women”s Rights

Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah

Asharq Al-Awsat

Oxford-Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr.Muhammad Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah has denied that the opposition to granting theKuwaiti woman her political rights &#34was only Islamic.&#34  Speaking to &#34Al-Sharqal-Awsat&#34 after delivering a lecture the night before yesterday in Oxford, he said Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah al- Ahmad al-Sabah”s imminent talks in the United States would focus on the Iraq issue and the peace process, especially in light of Israel”s continued &#34intransigence in implementing the &#34roadmap&#34 and(US President George) Bush”s visions for establishing a Palestinian state.&#34 Shaykh Muhammad al-Sabah stressed that his country which backs Palestinian President Abu-Mazin &#34fully&#34 would not normalize relations with Israel before peace is reached.

Answering an &#34Al-Sharq al-Awsat&#34 question about the reason for the 6 years delay in legislating the decision to grant the woman her political rights, the minister said:  &#34We are not a dictatorship where the leadership”s desires are implemented promptly.  There has to be a collective belief in any reform and any development, especially something as big, profound, and with much impact as that of granting the woman her political rights.&#34  He added:  &#34His

highness therefore insisted that this desire (process of granting the woman her rights) should come through parliament, which is an active one rightfully leading the development process in Kuwait.&#34

When asked whether the opposition to the plan was mostly Islamic, the minister denied this and said:  &#34I will not say it was only Islamic.  Part of the opposition was social and the other part political.&#34  Explaining what he meant by the political opposition, he added: &#34Many are fearful when the number of voters in an electoral district increases and therefore they become more uncertain and confused.&#34

Asked what issues will Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah focus on during his imminent visit to the United States, the foreign minister replied that the visit &#34will represent the continuation of the strategic dialogue between the United States and Kuwait, especially on the Iraq issue.&#34  He added:  &#34Iraq has become a sovereign state and has a government that derives its legitimacy from 8.5 million Iraqis and also from the United Nations.  There is a new situation (in Iraq) that deserves to be discussed.&#34

He went on to say:  &#34The other issue isthe Middle East peace process and (Israeli Prime Minister Ari”el) Sharon”s in transigence in implementing the &#34roadmap&#34 and President Bush”s visions for establishing a Palestinian state.  We support fully the government of President Mahmud Abbas (Abu-Mazin) and we believe he is the person who has the national and serious vision for bringing welfare to the Palestinian people.&#34

Despite some positive developments and the elections in Iraq, some fear the signs of civil war between the Shiites and Sunnis there and accuse Iran and Syria of intervening to inflame the internal conflicts.  But the Kuwaiti minister downplayed these speculations and stressed:  &#34The Iraqi people will, by the Grace of God, prove that these speculations of doom and ruin for the Iraqi people are not valid.&#34  When reminded that the Sunni clerics were being assassinated by groups that are said to be Shiites, Shaykh Muhammad al- Sabah said:  &#34What I see are booby-trapped vehicles exploding in the market and killing children and old people indiscriminately.&#34 He then expressed his belief that the &#34issue is more than the killing of Sunnis and others but a specific operation to kill the Iraqi people.  The evidence is that the terrorists

carrying out these operations are now incapable of facing military forces and are therefore targeting the Iraqi society.  This shows that these persons are terrorists in the full meaning of the word.&#34  He refused to comment on Western accusations that Syria is interfering in Iraq”s affairs and said:  &#34Everyone has the right to say what he wants.&#34

When he asked about his country”s relations with Syria, Jordan, Qatar, and Palestine, the Kuwaiti foreign minister merely said, &#34they are excellent&#34 with all these countries.

Will Kuwait be among the 10 Arab countries that Tel Aviv says will establish diplomatic relations with it soon? He explained in his reply:  &#34Kuwait”s stand is known.  We support fully the Palestinian National Authority and Mahmud Abbas.  I believe it is in the (Arabs) interest to support the negotiating position of the Palestinian president.  There will not therefore be normalization  between Kuwait and Israel until after peace is established in the Middle East.&#34

Asked for his view if another Arab country established relations with Tel Aviv, he said:  &#34Each country is free.  But Kuwait will not do it.  I am Kuwait”s foreign minister and I cannot talk on behalf of other countries.&#34

At the press conference that followed the lecture, the Kuwaiti foreign minister expressed his optimism that Britain”s chairmanship of the EU soon would help open a new page between Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council.  He pointed out that Kuwait and its Gulf sisters have been negotiating with the EU for years to encourage the latter to help them complete a comprehensive economic reform process.

He denied that Kuwait recently granted its women their political rights as a result of US pressures and stressed that the country”s amir Shaykh Jabir al- Sabah submitted the proposal on his own initiative to parliament the first time in 1999. He asserted, &#34There is no fundamental and natural incompatibility between our Arab Islamic societies and democracy&#34, adding that the mistakes from which the Arabs are suffering&#34 originate from the economic structure and the totalitarian economic system.&#34

The Kuwaiti minister focused in his lecture on the prevailing image of the Arab world and its culture and said the &#34democratic changes&#34 have started in the region.  He stressed that the Arabs” regression and backwardness in some aspects have absolutely nothing to do with their religion Islam and pointed out that &#34some (in the West) look at what is happening in Beirut”s streets, at the polling centers in Iraq, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia, at the constitutional  reforms in Egypt, and the historic parliamentary debate to grant women the right to vote in Kuwait as an Arab spring&#34 while others believe &#34the profound changes will probably not happen in the Arab word&#34 for several reasons, the most important being &#34the pessimistic image of the region”s future.&#34

He then talked about the Arabs” regression in applying democracy and in the spheres of education and granting the woman her rights and pointed out that the &#34UN report on human development for 2003&#34 focused the spotlights on these three aspects.  He paused at two wrong impressions characterizing the Westerners” discussions of the Arab situations and the reasons for the region”s regression in several spheres.  He said:  &#34The first false idea stems from the view that religion is responsible for the deterioration of the situations in the Arab world.&#34  He added:  &#34The lack of development is a circumstance and not an ideological model that man follows.  The second false idea is that Arab culture is closed and hostile to diversity.&#34  He pointed out that those who are convinced of the second idea ignore the diversity in the Gulf states, particularly as they &#34are turning into centers for diversity and international trade.&#34

The Kuwaiti foreign minister stressed that the &#34centralized economic systems&#34 that are still applied in some countries are the source of the disease, adding that getting rid of the&#34 totalitarian economy&#34 and opening the door to free trade on the basis of the market economy are an inevitable condition for getting the Arab world out of the trap of backwardness from which it is suffering.