david cameron speech to the national assembly, kuwait

8/7/2019 David Cameron Speech to the National Assembly, Kuwait

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Prime Ministers speech to the

National Assembly, Kuwait

Prime Minister David Cameron delivered a speech on Britains relationship with

the Middle East to the National Assemply in Kuwait on Tuesday, 22 February

2011.

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Mr Speaker, Members of Parliament, Ladies and Gentlemen, its a privilege to

speak here in the Kuwaiti National Assembly in this very special year when you

celebrate half a century of independence from Britain and, together, we mark the

twentieth anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait from Saddam Husseins forces.

When Saddam invaded your country two decades ago, two world leaders

immediately saw what was at stake. President Bush and Prime Minister

Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher put the issue with characteristic candour. Iraqs

invasion, she said .defies every principle for which the United Nations stands.

If we let it succeed, no small country can ever feel safe again. The law of the

jungle would take over from the rule of law.


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Britain, America and a great alliance of Arabs and non-Arabs alike came here

to stand with you in your darkest hour and show that proud and independent

nations should not be trampled into the desert sand. I am particularly proud to

be in Kuwait today with Margaret Thatchers successor as Prime Minister, andthe man who helped lead that remarkable coalition to victory: Sir John Major.

He joins me today in paying tribute to the British servicemen and women and

all their colleagues in the Coalition forces who fought here and to remember

in particular those who gave their lives for Kuwaits liberty including 47 British

servicemen.

Their sacrifice is honoured every day by the sovereignty of this Parliament and

by all you have achieved as a nation, not only in the 20 years since invasion, but

in the 50 years of independence.

Now once again this region is the epicentre of momentous changes, but pursued

in a very different way. History is sweeping through your neighbourhood. Not

as a result of force and violence, but by people seeking their rights, and in the

vast majority of cases doing so peacefully and bravely. Across the Arab World,

aspirations are stirring which have lain dormant.

They can take inspiration from other peaceful movements for change, such as

the Velvet revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe, the civil rights strugglein America, or the peaceful transition to democracy in Muslim countries like

Indonesia.

It is too early to say how things will turn out. Too often, in the past, there has

been disappointment. But there are some grounds for cautious optimism.

Optimism, because it is the people especially the young people who are

speaking up. It is they who are choosing to write their history and doing so for

the most part peacefully and with dignity. It is they who are showing that there

is more to politics in this region than the false choice sometimes presentedbetween repression and extremism.

As I said in Downing Street ten days ago, and as I repeated yesterday in Cairo,

this is a precious moment of opportunity for this region. Just as we stood with

Kuwait in 1990 to defend your right to self-determination, so we stand today with


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the people and Governments who are on the side of justice, of the rule of law and

of freedom. It is not for me, or for governments outside the region, to pontificate

about how each country meets the aspirations of its people. It is not for us to tell

you how to do it, or precisely what shape your future should take. There is no

single formula for success, and there are many ways to ensure greater, popularparticipation in Government. We respect your right to take your own decisions,

while offering our goodwill and support.

But we cannot remain silent in our belief that freedom and the rule of law are

what best guarantee human progress and economic success, and that each

country should find its own path to achieving peaceful change. Here in Kuwait

you have set out down this path. So, here here in this country here in this

Parliament here is the right place to speak of these things.

Britain and Kuwait share a long history of Al Sadaqa (friendship) from the time

the first British ships called into Kuwait in the 17th Century through the treaty

of Al Sadaqa in 1899 right to the present day. And my argument today is this.

Yes, ours is a partnership based on a shared economic future. As we need our

economies to grow and diversify in this challenging globalised world. And yes,

ours is a partnership to deliver shared security interests. Not least as we confront

the terrorist threat we face from extremism. But crucially, far from running counter

to these vital interests of prosperity and security, I believe that political and

economic reform in the Arab world is essential not just in advancing these vitalshared interests but as a long term guarantor of the stability needed for our

relationship to strengthen and for both our societies to flourish.

Economy

The friendship between our countries was born from trade between two maritime

nations. Indeed it was the captain of an English ship, The Eagle who made the

first accurate survey of Kuwait Bay in 1777. And today trade remains a great

engine of growth and opportunity not just for Britain and Kuwait, but right acrossthe region. But anyone who thinks this trade is just about purchasing oil on the

one hand and selling manufactured goods in return is completely out of date. Its

much more complex and diverse.

From the new international airport to be built here in Kuwait to Yas and Saadiyat


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Islands in Abu Dhabi and Education City in Qatar British companies are playing

a pivotal role in exciting and ambitious development plans across the Gulf. In

turn the Gulf countries are investing heavily in Britain, like the Kuwait Investment

Authority which has its overseas headquarters in London and has invested some

150 billion over the last fifty years, the majority of it in the UK.

As your economies grow and diversify, Britain is in an excellent position to help

you make the most of these opportunities. Our timezone. The English language.

The easiest access to the European market. Superb universities. And our culture

and sport from next years Olympics in London to formula one motor racing and

premiership football teams supported across the Gulf region.

Already today the UK exports more goods and services to the Gulf than to China

and India combined. Right now, the value of trade and investment betweenBritain and Kuwait alone is already over 1 billion a year. And the Prime Minister

Sheikh Nasser and I have today set a new challenge to double this over the next

five years.

Security

Advancing our shared economic interests also requires security and stability. We

value our security co-operation with Kuwait and the Gulf highly. Over 160,000

British nationals now live in the Gulf but the security of the Gulf doesnt just affectthe British nationals living here it affects the British people back at home too.

The continued failure of the Middle East Peace Process to achieve justice for

Palestinians or security for Israelis the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon

and the growing threat from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are not just

security problems for the region, but security problems shared by the whole

world.

We must be clear about the Middle East Peace Process. In responding tothe most recent developments in the Middle East, there is a serious risk that

governments will draw the wrong conclusion and pull back. I draw completely the

opposite conclusion. Far from pulling back we should push forward.

We need to see an urgent return to talks so that peoples legitimate aspirations


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for two states can be fulfilled through negotiations. Just as the Palestinian

Authority needs to shoulder its responsibility to tackle violence from the West

Bank Israel needs to meet its Road Map obligation to halt illegal settlement

activity as the Resolution Britain supported at the UN Security Council last Friday

underlines.

The result should be two states, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both, and

a fair settlement for refugees. This is not just a problem of rights, territories and

people, complicated as they are it is a recruiting sergeant for terror an excuse

for authoritarianism and a cause of deep-rooted instability. A lasting settlement

would be the greatest step along a new path for this region. The same unity of

purpose and message is necessary for the threat coming from Iran.

As the whole international community has made clear in successive Resolutionsof the UN Security Council Iran must comply with its international obligations.

We have offered Iran the hand of friendship. But the response has been

disappointing and gravely concerning. We will not stand by and allow Iran to cast

a nuclear shadow over this region nor accept interference by Iran in the affairs of

its neighbours.

Meeting the threat of extremism

In understanding the nature of the threat to our security we cannot ignore thethreat to all our countries from international terrorism. As we have seen, Al

Qaeda has mounted attacks on places as far apart as Saudi Arabia and the

United States and in recent months we have seen attempted suicide plots in

Sweden, Denmark and in my own country.

The fact a bomb was put on a plane in Yemen last October and carried to the

UAE to Germany to Britain en route to America shows the threat we all face, and

how together, as friends and allies, we can deal with it and save lives. Indeed, I

believe this is the most important global threat to our security. And it comes froma warped extremist ideology that tries to set our societies against each other by

radicalising young Muslims all across the world.

Let me be clear. I am not talking about Islam. Islam is a great religion, observed

peacefully and devoutly by over a billion people. I am talking about the extremist


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ideology of a small minority. An ideology that wants a global conflict between

Muslims and the rest of the world, and in the process sets Muslims against

Muslims. It is this extremism that is the source of the global terrorist threat.

Now, of course, increasing our security co-operation is a vital part of how wemeet this threat. And above all it is vital that we challenge the warped thinking

that fuels the extremist ideology. But as I argued in Munich earlier this month,

we, in the West, must also do much better at integrating young Muslims into our

society.

People should have a positive identity with the country in which they are living.

We in Europe have to recognise that without a society to integrate with or a

proper sense of belonging our Muslim communities risk becoming isolated and

young Muslims in particular become more prone to the poisonous narrative ofseparateness and victimhood that can lead to extremism.

Recent developments

And a similar risk of young people turning the wrong way applies in the Arab

world too. Young people yearn for something better, for their rights to be

respected, and for responsible and accountable government. They want systems

and societies they can believe in.

One of the most remarkable things about the historic events weve seen in

Egypt and Tunisia in these past weeks is that it is not an ideological or extremist

movement but rather, a movement of the people an expression of aspiration

predominantly from a new generation hungry for political and economic

freedoms.

A British businessman who had been in the square in Cairo during the

demonstrations told me how when the extremists turned up and tried to claim the

movement as theirs they were shouted down and disowned.

This movement belongs to the frustrated Tunisian fruit seller who cant take his

product to market. And to the students in Cairo who cant get a fair start, and the

millions of Egyptians who live on $2 a day. In short, it belongs to the people who

want to make something of their lives, and to have a voice. It belongs to a new


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generation for whom technology the internet and social media is a powerful

tool in the hands of citizens, not a means of repression. It belongs to the people

whove had enough of corruption, of having to make do with what theyre given,

of having to settle for second best.

For decades, some have argued that stability required highly controlling regimes,

and that reform and openness would put that stability at risk. So, the argument

went, countries like Britain faced a choice between our interests and our values.

And to be honest, we should acknowledge that sometimes we have made such

calculations in the past. But I say that is a false choice.

As recent events have confirmed, denying people their basic rights does not

preserve stability, rather the reverse. Our interests lie in upholding our values

in insisting on the right to peaceful protest, in freedom of speech and the internet,in freedom of assembly and the rule of law. But these are not just our values,

but the entitlement of people everywhere; of people in Tahrir Square as much as

Trafalgar Square.

So whenever and wherever violence is used against peaceful demonstrators, we

must not hesitate to condemn it. The whole world has been shocked in the last

few days by the appalling violence which the authorities in Libya have unleashed

on their own people.

Violence is not the answer to peoples legitimate aspirations. Using force cannot

resolve grievances, only multiply and deepen them. We condemned the violence

in Bahrain, and welcome the fact that the military has now been withdrawn from

the streets and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has embarked on a broad

national dialogue.

If peoples hunger for a job and a voice are denied there is a real risk that the

frustration and powerlessness people feel and the resulting lack of connection

with the way their country is run: can open the way to them being cut off fromsociety or worse drawn to more violent and extremist responses. Thats a

problem for the Arab world but its a problem for the rest of the world too.

Thats why I think political and economic reform in the Arab world is not just

good in its own right but its also a key part of the antidote to the extremism that


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threatens the security of us all.

Reform, far from undermining stability is a condition of it.

How do we support economic and political reform?

So how do we support economic and political reform?

I believe two things are important. The first is to understand that democracy

is a process not an event. And important though elections are, participatory

government is about much more than the simple act of voting. Democracy is

the work of patient craftsmanship it has to be built from the grassroots up. The

building blocks have to be laid like the independence of the judiciary, the rights

of individuals, free media and association, and a proper place in society for thearmy. It cant be done overnight. And if you want evidence of that just look at

the history of Britain, a constitutional monarchy which has evolved through time,

and where so many of our rights under our laws predate our right to vote by 700

years.

My second belief is this. Political and economic reform is vital but it has to be

pursued with Al Ehtiram with respect for the different cultures, histories and

traditions of each nation. We in the West have no business trying to impose our

particular local model. The evolution of political and economic progress will bedifferent in each country. But thats not an excuse, as some would argue, to claim

that Arabs or Muslims cant do democracy the so-called Arab exception. For

me thats a prejudice that borders on racism. Its offensive and wrong, and its

simply not true.

Oman established a Human Rights Commission for the first time last year in

Oman. Qatar is now considered to be among the twenty least corrupt nations in

the world. Above all, just look around this National Assembly elected by universal

suffrage where every community is represented where men and women sit side-by-side and where Ministers are held to account.

This movement for change is not about Western agendas its about the Arab

people themselves standing up and saying what they want to happen. And

its about governments engaging in dialogue with their people to forge a way


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forward, together. The security and prosperity of this region will come hand-in-

hand with development towards more open, fair and inclusive societies.

The question for us is simply whether we in the West play a role in helping to

ensure that change delivers as peaceful and stable an outcome as possible. AndI believe we should by looking afresh at our entire engagement with the region,

from our development programmes, to our cultural exchanges and to our trade

arrangements.

Conclusion A new chapter in our partnership

So I come here today offering a new chapter in Britains long partnership with

our friends in this region. Over generations we have built a partnership based

on our shared interests in prosperity and security. But in a changing world oursmust now also be a partnership that recognises the importance of political and

economic reform.

I know that for many these are days of anxiety as well as hope anxiety about

the risks that come with change; the risk of military power entrenchment; the risk

of a slide into violence extremism; the risk of sectarian or internal conflict. For

sure, the path will be an uneven one. But a sober assessment of the risks need

not mean succumbing to pessimism.

While this story does not yet have an ending there is a more hopeful way, as we

have seen in the television pictures of young people across the region, and as

we have seen in the way the Egyptian army refused to turn on its own people.

And we know one more thing: in the end, twenty-first century economies require

open societies.

As I said in Beijing, so here in Kuwait: I am convinced that the best guarantor

of prosperity and stability is for economic and political progress to go in step

together. We all need to adapt to give our young people new ways of making

their voices heard and their opinions felt. A job, and a voice. Active citizens with asay in effective, accountable government.

As the 18th Century British liberal conservative, Edmund Burke once said,

A State without the means of some change is without the means of its

conservation.


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And I believe that the most resilient societies rest on the building blocks of

democracy: Transparency and accountability of government and the removal of

corruption. The freedom to communicate. A fair stake for all an education, a

job, the chance to build a business and the space for participation in politics, and

shaping your society.

In short, reform not repression is the only way to maintain stability. There

are some who argue that the Arab world is destined to decline or simply accept

second best. They look backwards to the great age of Arab learning: law,

science, arts and architecture, and say that something went wrong, and cannot

be recovered. But I believe the best is yet to come.

As a new British Government renews it partnership with the Arab world, I look

from the new cities of the Gulf shores to the, diversity of the Near East and NorthAfrica. And I look forward to a future that is rich in prosperity strong in defence

and open in its handling and pursuit of political and economic reform. Its a future

we must build together.

david cameron speech to the national assembly, kuwait

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