KING ON MARCH 27 ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT TO TAKE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000432

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC BA PINSF
SUBJECT: KING ON MARCH 27 ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT TO TAKE
HARDER LINE ON LAW-BREAKERS

REF: A) MANAMA 414 B) MANAMA 409

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann. Reasons 1.4(B)(D).


1. (S) Summary: Worried about potential protests on the
eve of the April 4 Formula One race event, the King Hamed
announced on March 27 that the Government would not tolerate
lawbreaking or acts of violence. Many observers and leading
businessmen, recalling a recent bank robbery and attacks on a
restaurant and private homes offering illegal liquor,
welcomed the King's promise of a tougher line. They want the
King to reestablish what they perceive to be tattered police
authority and deterrent capability. Privately with us, the
King stressed that the GoB would prevent any violent
demonstrations at the Embassy or elsewhere in Bahrain. The
Crown Prince told us the issue is violence, not verbal
expression of opposition to the Government. The Crown Prince
pledged the government would adhere to the rule of law. If
the hardline Shia opposition generates any protests which
devolve into violence, the government may well respond by
banning the main Shia opposition party in a move it thinks
would secure Bahrain's image as a safe place to live and
work. We have cautioned that arresting and prosecuting
lawbreakers is laudable and necessary, but it will be harder
for foreign observers to understand banning a political
group. End Summary.


2. (U) Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa in a national address
aired on Bahraini TV on March 27 said the Government would
crack down on criminals and individuals responsible for acts
of violence. The King said violent demonstrations would not
be tolerated. Pro-government newspapers rolled out
editorials on March 28 praising the King's remarks and urging
citizens not to put the Bahrain's political reform process at
risk by resorting to crime or violence.


3. (S) Bahrain's Crown Prince, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad,
told the Ambassador on March 28 that the Bahraini government
would begin taking a tougher line against criminals and
political extremists. Salman said that the government's
repeal of the state security law, and its wide-sweeping
authorities, had caused problems for the police who had used
it as a crutch to fight crime. Without the security law, the
police had been unable to use regular laws to hold and
prosecute lawbreakers. He claimed that to his knowledge no
orders had ever been issued to the security services not to
arrest people. The King, Salman said, is now urging security
services to toughen up their enforcement of regular Bahraini
laws. Salman underlined that the government and its security
services would operate within the confines of existing
Bahraini law. The government is committed to the rule of
law, he concluded.


4. (S) Later on March 28 the King confirmed to the
Ambassador that his March 27 speech to the nation represented
a change in tone and tactic with respect to extremists in
Bahrain. The King said he was unhappy that hard-line Shia
opposition members had organized demonstrations at the
American Embassy (ref a). He said he had passed a message
back to the hard-line Shia Al-Wifaq opposition group's
leader, Shaikh Ali Salman, that if the extremists push too
hard on demonstrations at the American Embassy the King would
ask the Americans to take over security around the Embassy
with the implied threat that the Americans would be much
tougher than the Bahraini security. (Note: the King does
not/not intend to ask us to defend ourselves. He is simply
making clear that further threats will not be tolerated. The
Minister who actually passed the messaged described them to
us in identical terms.) The King said that they would begin
tougher enforcement of the law against extremists, but would
not arrest people merely for expressing disagreement of
opinion with the government. The King added that he had
visited the Bahraini Defense Forces headquarters on March 27.
There he had given the senior army commanders a simple
message: Those who are unable or are unwilling to enforce
the law need to tell us so we can make alternate
administrative arrangements for them.


5. (S) The King discounted the likelihood of a strong
confrontation with the hard-line opposition in Bahrain. He
noted that already some of the more moderate elements of
Al-Wifaq are leaving the group. (He pointed to the departure
from the Al-Wifaq ward of businessman Nizar Al-Baharna and
Shaikh Abdul Al-Nabi Al-Dirazi.) The King concluded that the
break-up of Al-Wifaq would be a good thing as it would
isolate extremists in Bahrain.


6. (C) Two of Bahrain's leading businessmen told the DCM on
March 28 that the harder line taken by the King and the
government is very welcome. They noted that a recent bank
robbery as well as a recent attack on a Manama restaurant
(ref b) indicated that extremists felt they could act with
impunity. It was urgent, they thought, for the government to
reinforce its authority and deter law breakers. However,
another top GOB official and a leading businessman echoed
these sentiments, but added that this time the King will have
to follow through or lose all credibility.


7. (C) A reliable Embassy contact present at a
well-attended al-Wifaq meeting on March 28 told Poloff that
al-Wifaq leader Ali Salman urged al-Wifaq followers to avoid
violence or provocation. Salman also, however, expressed
understanding of Shia frustrations in Bahrain and defended
the people's right to express themselves. (Our source
wondered if that wasn't an implicit green light to more
provocation.) Ali Salman also told the Wifaq meeting that
the Government has warned al-Wifaq that any al-Wifaq
demonstration, protest or even petition drive could trigger
the GoB to ban al-Wifaq entirely.


8. (C) Comment: A close advisor to the King told
Ambassador March 27 that some in the Government are beginning
to ponder whether they should ban hardline opposition groups
like al-Wifaq. The Ambassador cautioned that arresting and
prosecuting lawbreakers is laudable and necessary, but
shutting down political groups would be harder for foreign
observers to understand. If al-Wifaq can control its
followers, we do not anticipate the GoB will move to shut it
down or arrest its leaders. However, the GoB is now keenly
sensitive to the risk that political protests or violence
during next week's Formula One racing event would harm
Bahrain's image as a safe place to invest, work and live.
The government is now much more sharply focused on al-Wifaq
elements as a potential instigator of protests and/or
violence. Formula One and Bahrain's image are probably more
important to the Government at this moment than plaudits
about its political reform process. End Comment.
NEUMANN