NO SIGN OF MOVEMENT ON ARTICLE 98 RATIFICATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000322

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2014
TAGS: PREL KJUS KTIA BA KICC
SUBJECT: NO SIGN OF MOVEMENT ON ARTICLE 98 RATIFICATION

REF: KANESHIRO - FORD EMAIL OF MARCH 9

Classified By: Charge Robert S. Ford. Reasons 1.4 (D).


1. (C) Charge asked Bahraini MFA Minister of State on
March 8 and the Foreign Minister on March 9 whether the GoB
had determined how it wanted to move forward with
implementing our signed Article 98 agreement. The Minister
of State said the MFA lawyers still have not determined what
legal means are available. The MinState said the GoB wanted
to be very careful not to create unnecessary issues with the
Parliament. Charge noted that the MFA's legal team had been
examining this question since last summer. He asked when we
could expect a response given our anxious desire to finish
the steps to implementing the agreement. The MinState
declined to give a date but emphasized that under no
circumstances would the Bahraini Government ever transfer an
American servicemember to the International Criminal Court.
The FM March 9 also declined to give Charge a sense of when
the GoB would tell us when it would finish its procedures.
He merely said we would hear back soon.


2. (C) Comment: It is extremely unlikely that the GoB would
transfer an American servicemember to the ICC or a third
party; the bilateral military relationship is absolutely
essential to Bahrain's security. That said, it seems
unlikely that we will, in fact, hear back soon about bringing
the Article 98 formally into effect. It is possible that the
MFA lawyers think the agreement should go to Parliament, and
the GoB doesn't want to send it given how feisty the
Parliament has been on other issues. It also is possible
that the MFA lawyers are studying the question to death. In
any case, we could remain in this holding pattern for a long
time. Charge called on the Foreign Minister by coincidence
on the same day that NEA PDAS Larocco raised this subject
with the Bahraini Ambassador in Washington. We will press
the MFA in a couple weeks to learn if the GOB has made a
decision to bring the signed Article 98 agreement into force.
If they still have not, we would then recommend that (a) we
provide a letter from the appropriately senior American
official that we could deliver to the Foreign Minister, or
(b) a higher level American official convoke the Bahraini
ambassador in Washington to underline the urgency to the USG.
FORD