UNEMPLOYMENT PROTEST MARRED BY CLASHES; 30

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000885

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ECON PREL BA
SUBJECT: UNEMPLOYMENT PROTEST MARRED BY CLASHES; 30
DEMONSTRATORS DETAINED THEN RELEASED

REF: A. MANAMA 871

B. MANAMA 812

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

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Summary
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1. (C) Police clashed with some 50 Bahrainis protesting the
unemployment situation outside the Royal Court June 19. The
scuffles broke out as police tried to keep the demonstrators
away from an area near the Court entrance designated
off-limits to protesters following a rally at the same
location earlier this month. Police took about 30 of the
demonstrators to the police station but, following the
intervention of a senior Ministry of Interior official, they
were released without charge. Five of the protesters went to
the hospital, all in stable condition. Demonstration
organizer and activist Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja suffered a
chipped front tooth and bruised jaw. A parliamentarian close
to the protesters admitted that their agenda is much broader
than unemployment. We have heard reports for several weeks
that Al Khawaja is seeking to get arrested in order to
provoke a crisis that will force the King to intervene and
deal with Al Khawaja's political demands. Despite a long
history of doing so, the King appears to want to avoid
handing down an outside-the-system solution in order to build
and strengthen governmental institutions. End Summary.

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Demonstrating in a No-Go Area
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2. (C) About 50 Bahrainis representing the Committee for the
Unemployed demonstrated outside the Royal Court June 19.
This follows a previous three-day protest at the same
location that ended on June 6 during which participants
blocked access to the Court, particularly the Grievance
Office, where ordinary citizens petition for assistance from
the Royal Family in settling disputes. Following that
gathering, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) issued instructions
that demonstrators could hold their rallies only in specific
areas close to the Court, but not in the way of regular
business traffic (Ref B). MOI officials told RSO that the
demonstrators formed up on the edge of the off-limits space
and attempted to push through police lines to move closer to
the Court. Other say the police tried to push the protesters
away from the area. The situation quickly escalated.


3. (C) It is unclear which side, police or protesters,
started the clashes, but riot police soon moved in and began
beating demonstrators with batons. Some 30 participants were
transported to the Riffa police station, where the scuffles
continued. A senior MOI official reportedly spoke to the
Riffa police chief and ordered him to calm the situation and
release the demonstrators without charge. Several of the
protesters, including Committee for the Unemployed organizer
Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, who had been imprisoned then released
in late 2004 for incitement and insulting the Royal Family,
refused to leave the police station and demanded the public
prosecutor come to take statements against the police.
Representatives of the public prosecutor arrived and took the
statements, and the remaining protesters finally departed the
station.

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Light Injuries on Both Sides
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4. (C) According to press reports, four protesters were
admitted into the hospital with injuries while a fifth was
examined and discharged. All are in stable condition. Al
Khawaja suffered a chipped front tooth and bruised jaw. The
MOI told us that eight police were injured. The Ministry of
Labor released a statement that, among the protesters, 29
hold steady jobs, five are students, and one is a business
man. Only five are unemployed.


5. (C) Satellite channels Al Jazira and Al Arabiya filmed
and broadcast the clashes. Pro-government daily Al Ayam in
its front page editorial says "All indications show that the
protest in front of the Royal Court was staged for the
purposes of escalation but used the cause of the unemployed
to cover up a hidden agenda and hidden goals. This
escalation has nothing to do with democracy." Moderate Shia
parliamentarian Mohammed Al Shaikh, who represents a district
close to where the demonstration took place and was involved
in talks to secure the release of the protesters, told PolFSN
that the demonstrators' agenda is much broader than
unemployment, and focuses on greater political power and
influence for Bahrain's Shia majority.

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Frustration with Al Khawaja
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6. (C) Minister of Industry and Commerce and confidant to
the King Hassan Fakhro expressed his frustration with the
situation to the Ambassador. He said the protesters, in
particular Al Khawaja, are not serious about addressing the
problem of unemployment, and want to attract attention.
(Note: In the Bahraini context, complaints about
unemployment often have a sectarian dimension. The majority
Shia are disproportionately hurt by unemployment relative to
the minority Sunni.) Fakhro said that Al Khawaja was trying
to involve the King personally by holding the protest at the
Royal Court rather than the Ministry of Labor.

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Comment
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7. (C) We have heard reports over the past several weeks
that Al Khawaja wants to escalate tensions to provoke a
crisis that precipitates the intervention of the King. He
has reportedly been actively seeking to get arrested. Al
Khawaja is using the unemployment issue as a lever to promote
his broader political agenda, which at a minimum demands
greater political rights for Shia and could range as far as
advocating the departure of the Al Khalifa family and
creation of a republic. (Note: The "hidden agenda" referred
to in the Al Ayam article.) Al Khawaja has condemned and
called for the ouster of Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa
previously, and wants the Shia to hold the bulk of political
power, particularly in the parliament. He likely believes
that a political crisis that results in outside (read U.S.
and British) pressure could cause King Hamad to step in and
offer the Shia a concession in exchange for a pledge to
participate in the 2006 parliamentary elections. Bahrain's
Royal Family, like others in the Gulf, has a long history of
intervening in the midst of an emergency and handing down an
outside-the-system solution. The best example is when the
King pardoned Al Khawaja after he was convicted of incitement
and insulting the Royal Family in late 2004. While
effective, this practice of intervention by the royals runs
counter to the King's interest in building and strengthening
governmental institutions (Ref A). As long as the government
deals with the challenge from Al Khawaja with some finesse,
the King is unlikely to become personally involved.
Bahrain's leadership recognizes that Al Khawaja's arrest last
fall actually heightened his popularity and notoriety, and
that a second arrest might have a similar impact. At the
same time, however, there is clearly some frustration in the
high ranks of the government at Al Khawaja's continuing
provocative activity.

MONROE