Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MANAMA1888
2006-11-06 14:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:
FOREIGN MINISTER ADDRESSES SADDAM CONVICTION
how-toVZCZCXRO0712 OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK DE RUEHMK #1888 3101447 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 061447Z NOV 06 FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5925 INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT PRIORITY
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)
.
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Saddam could no longer represent the Sunni community in Iraq.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
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