BAHRAIN PLEASED WITH SUCCESS OF FORUM BUT FOCUS ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001725

SIPDIS

FOR NEA, NEA/ARPI, AND NEA/PI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2015
TAGS: PREL KMPI EAID BA REFORM REGION
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN PLEASED WITH SUCCESS OF FORUM BUT FOCUS ON
LACK OF DECLARATION DISAPPOINTING

REF: MANAMA 1679

Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) The Ambassador called on MFA Assistant Under
Secretary for Coordination and Follow-Up Shaikh Abdul Aziz

SIPDIS
bin Mubarak Al Khalifa November 20 to discuss the November
11-12 Forum for the Future conference held in Manama. Shaikh
Abdul Aziz, who was the lead Bahraini organizer, told the
Ambassador that the conference had many successes, including
the "historic participation" of NGOs in the proceedings. The
Bahrain conference was an enormous improvement over the
treatment of NGOs in Rabat, and he hopes this trend continues
with the next conference in Amman. While some civil society
representatives were not entirely happy with the Bahraini and
British chairs' strict control of interventions during the
conference, Shaikh Abdul Aziz pointed out that the GOB also
supported the November 9-10 parallel conference for NGOs.
This conference provided an additional outlet for activists
to express their views.


2. (C) Shaikh Abdul Aziz said that at the closing press
conference, Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid had announced King
Hamad's decision to provide $2 million in funding for the
Fund for the Future and Foundation for the Future. Shaikh
Abdul Aziz noted that the GOB had not yet decided on the
breakdown of funding between the two institutions, but the
split would probably not be even.


3. (C) Shaikh Abdul Aziz said the focus on the lack of a
formal declaration at the conclusion of the conference was
disappointing. He noted that the concept of a declaration
was a relatively new development, having been discussed for
the first time at the September 9 steering committee meeting
in London. The first country to express concerns with the
language in the draft declaration was Oman, on November 10,
the eve of the opening of the Senior Officials meeting. Oman
was worried about the perception of the declaration allowing
interference in internal affairs. After negotiations between
the Omani and British delegations, there was consensus on 80
percent of the text, enough that the Bahrainis felt
comfortable moving ahead with the declaration. The Saudis
offered some wordsmithing on use of the term "creed" in place
of "religion," but these were not serious objections.


4. (C) Bahrain was surprised, however, when the Egyptians
voiced objections "at the eleventh hour" over language on
assistance to NGOs. Shaikh Abdul Aziz said he met with
Egyptian MFA official Shaaban to discuss Egypt's insistence
on referring to "legally registered" NGOs, and recommended
Shaaban take it up with U.S. officials. Shaikh Abdul Aziz
said he did not receive an update on the status of those
talks, but it was clear they failed. He faulted Egypt for
not accepting the declaration, which was not a legally
binding document. He wondered, however, why the U.S. could
not accept the reference to legally registered NGOs.


5. (C) Comment: Shaikh Abdul Aziz put the blame for the
lack of a declaration squarely on Egypt. He was
uncomfortable, however, with the international media's
sensationalistic focus on the conference "ending in discord,"
and implied that King Hamad and others were concerned with
the perception of the outcomes. While the conference did not
issue a declaration, it did launch the Fund and Foundation
for the Future, and some 44 civil society representatives sat
at the table with governments as equals - an historic and
unprecedented event in the region.

MONROE