Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MANAMA1366
2006-07-29 09:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

BAHRAINI SHIA MPS URGE CONTINUED EMBASSY ROLE

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER BA REGION CTR POL REFORM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMK #1366/01 2100927
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 290927Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5313
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001366 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER BA REGION CTR POL REFORM
SUBJECT: BAHRAINI SHIA MPS URGE CONTINUED EMBASSY ROLE


Classified By: CDA Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001366

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER BA REGION CTR POL REFORM
SUBJECT: BAHRAINI SHIA MPS URGE CONTINUED EMBASSY ROLE


Classified By: CDA Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Shia MPs Mohamed Al Alshaikh and Shaikh Abdulla Al
A'ali met with the Ambassador July 24 and urged the Embassy
to continue to support Bahrain's democratic reform. Shaikh
Abdulla expressed the wish they could have accomplished more
for the people, but said that their four years of service
have been a good experience in the democratic process. The
MPs requested that the Ambassador urge GOB officials to
ensure that the fall parliamentary and municipal elections
are fair and legitimate, and the Ambassador assured them that
he would be vocal on such issues leading up to the elections.
Shaikh Abdulla also expressed his desire that the Embassy
assist in minimizing conflict between Sunni and Shia in
Bahrain. Al Alshaikh said that the recently passed
counterterrorism (CT) legislation gives the GOB too much
authority and opens the door to abuse of the public's basic
human rights. Finally the MPs expressed concern that the
U.S. is not doing enough to resolve the conflict in Lebanon
and that a resolution is more likely if the issues of Sheba
Farms and Hizballah prisoners held by Israel were part of the
negotiations. End summary.

--------------
Importance of Embassy Support for Democracy
--------------


2. (C) During a meeting with the Ambassador July 24, Shia
MPs Mohamed Abdulla Al Alshaikh and Shaikh Abdulla Ja'afer Al
A'ali, the only Shia cleric currently in the 40-member
Council of Representatives (COR),urged that the Embassy
continue to support the democratic reform process in Bahrain.
Shaikh Abdulla said that the past four years in the COR have
been a good experience in the democratic process, even though
due to several conservative MPs, the COR was not able to do
as much as it would have liked. The Ambassador stated that
even though Bahrain's democracy was not perfect, over the
four years it was clear that the COR had matured and each
year's work was better than the previous year's. He said
democracy is an ongoing process, and even in the U.S.'s

230-year-old democracy there have been debates in recent
months about the power of the executive branch relative to
the legislative branch.


3. (C) The MPs suggested the Ambassador use opportunities to
urge GOB officials to ensure that the upcoming elections are
fair and legitimate. The Ambassador assured them that he
uses any opportunity to do so and will be vocal on these
issues, including the advantages to allowing independent
observers, as we approach the elections. The MPs also asked
for any support that would encourage GOB officials to assist,
and the public to choose, qualified, experienced MPs in order
to enhance the quality of the COR and the democratic
experience in Bahrain.


4. (C) Shaikh Abdulla also suggested that the Embassy do
what it can to minimize conflict between the Sunni and Shia
communities in Bahrain. Conflicts in the COR between Sunni
and Shia MPs have a spill-over effect into the community, and
the (Sunni) "ruling family will always be on the side of the
Sunnis." He urged the Ambassador to stress the need for
unity whenever possible.

--------------
Objections to New Terror Law
--------------


5. (C) The second item on their agenda was the recently
passed CT legislation, which was fiercely opposed by 10 MPs,
including Al Alshaikh and Shaikh Abdulla. Al Alshaikh said
that the main objection was that the new law gives the GOB
too much authority to detain individuals. (Note: There is
some anxiety, especially in the Shia community, that the GOB
will abuse this authority, as was perceived to be the case in
the 1990's, under the Emergency State Security Law. That law
was repealed in 2002. End note.) Al Alshaikh stated that
the potential exists for the GOB to enforce the law
inconsistently, harder on the Shia than on Sunnis. The GOB
has used the anti-terror law to, according to Al Alshaikh,
slip in crimes that do not fit as acts of terrorism. Shaikh
Abdulla added that the new law will affect the rights of the
people including freedom of expression.

--------------
Concern on Lebanon/Hizballah
--------------


6. (C) The third issue they wanted to raise was the ongoing
conflict in Lebanon. Expressing concern about developments
there, Shaikh Abdulla asked that the U.S. be more actively
engaged to resolve the conflict. He expressed confidence
that a resolution could be reached if the issues of Sheba
Farms and Hizballah prisoners currently held in Israel were a
part of the package. Then, he said, it would be possible to
disarm Hizballah.


7. (C) Shaikh Abdulla related a personal story of a trip he
took to Iraq to visit Supreme Council for the Islamic
Revolution in Iraq Ayatollah Mohamed Al Hakim and then to
Lebanon to visit Hizballah leader Sayed Hasan Nasrallah. Al
Hakim asked Shaikh Abdulla to deliver a personal message to
Nasrallah, requesting that Nasrallah stop criticizing Al
Hakim for working with the U.S., because the Americans were
doing good work for them in Iraq. Shaikh Abdulla said that
Nasrallah responded that he would not stop criticizing the
U.S., because, in his eyes, anything the U.S. did was bad.
On the subject of Iraq, both Shaikh Abdulla and Al Alshaikh
expressed their support of the removal of Saddam Hussein and
the opportunity for Shia in Iraq to participate in the
government.

--------------
Comment
--------------


8. (C) At a time when even those who support democratic
reform or U.S. democracy programming in Bahrain are
distancing themselves from the USG because of Lebanon, it was
surprising that two Shia MPs approached us urging U.S.
support for democracy in the run-up to this fall's
parliamentary elections. This in fact reflects their
precarious positions as Shia who went against the Al Wifaq
boycott in 2002 and will face a serious challenge retaining
their seats in 2006 now that Al Wifaq is participating.
Significantly, they asked that the meeting be kept
confidential, and did not raise the issue of NDI. On the CT

SIPDIS
law, they reflected the concerns of Shia and many liberals
that the law was too broad and that it gives power to the
government to crack down on opposition as it sees fit.


********************************************* ********
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/
********************************************* ********
ZIADEH