FOREIGN MINISTER ADDRESSES SADDAM CONVICTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001888 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2016 TAGS: PREL MARR BA IZ REGION SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER ADDRESSES SADDAM CONVICTION PUBLICLY AND PRIVATELY Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) During a November 6 meeting covering several subjects (septels),Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told the Ambassador that he had intentionally made a cautious public statement about Saddam Hussein's conviction because Saddam is a divisive figure who continues to have a sectarian impact in Bahrain. It is best to keep a low profile, he said, but he was unable to avoid an aggressive reporter from Arabic daily Al Wasat who also works as the local AP stringer. He was entering a movie theater in a local mall the evening of November 5 when the reporter spotted him and begged for any kind of statement. He told her that Bahrain is a peaceful society unaccustomed to violence, including executions. Bahrain respects the court's ruling, and he had no comment from a political perspective because Iraq's judicial sector had issued a verdict. He continued that the execution could increase violence in Iraq. "I hope that peace prevails in Iraq," he told the reporter. ¶2. (C) Shaikh Khalid told the Ambassador that no other Arab country had commented publicly on the verdict, although he thought the Saudi government might. "We're not just walking on a tightrope, we're walking on a thread line," he said. Only Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa had spoken to the press, saying he respects the court's opinion but the situation in Iraq worries him. Shaikh Khalid commented that Saddam could no longer represent the Sunni community in Iraq. "His time is past, and they don't want him back," he said. ¶3. (SBU) Columnist Qassem Hussein of Al Wasat, which is close to Bahrain's Shia community, wrote November 6 that the day of the guilty verdict would go down in history because it marked the death sentence against the tyrant of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. "Yesterday, when he stood up to hear the court sentence, long lines of oppressed people, widows, orphans, and martyrs also stood up to watch his dark dictatorship end." There are no other editorials or op-ed pieces to date on the verdict. ¶4. (C) On the eve of the announcement of the ruling, the editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab, pro-Sunni daily Akhbar Al Khaleej, which has been sharply critical of U.S. policy in Iraq, told a dinner party gathering that he hoped Saddam would be executed as that would send a strong message to dictators throughout the Middle East. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** MONROE