AMBASSADOR PRESSES FOREIGN MINISTER FOR FAVORABLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000804 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KMPI KDEM BA BILAT REFORM OFFICIALS SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR PRESSES FOREIGN MINISTER FOR FAVORABLE RESOLUTION TO NDI'S STATUS Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In a meeting covering several subjects (septels),the Ambassador May 6 pressed Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa for a favorable resolution to the National Democratic Institute's (NDI) outstanding legal status in Bahrain. Referring to Deputy National Security Advisor Abrams' letter to Shaikh Khalid, the Ambassador said we needed to get a response from the GOB. He noted that NDI country representative Fawzi Guleid had been summoned to the Immigration Department and told that he would need to depart the country shortly because he had overstayed his residency permit. It would be a great disappointment if NDI were forced to leave Bahrain without a resolution to this issue. ¶2. (C) Shaikh Khalid responded that the Immigration Department's asking Guleid about his visa status shows that Bahrain is unhappy with him, but not with NDI. He said the GOB is keen to reach an agreement with NDI, calling it a great organization. The Crown Prince had expressed concerns about Guleid during his mid-March meetings in Washington. Shaikh Khalid said he understood that Guleid had "entrenched" himself with the political opposition in Bahrain, whereas NDI's training should have been open to all. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador noted that the issue of unhappiness with Guleid had been raised before, but the impasse on the proposed MOU defining the relationship between NDI and the Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) suggests that Guleid is not the issue. NDI's negotiations with BIPD were not even close to completion. BIPD was imposing conditions that NDI faces in no other countries where it operates. It appeared that the problems were institutional, not personal. If Guleid leaves Bahrain with no agreement being reached, the negotiations would be deadlocked. In response to the Foreign Minister's point that Guleid allegedly focused too much attention on opposition societies, the Ambassador said that one of the goals of both Bahrain and the U.S. was to promote political participation by all segments of Bahraini society, an ultimately successful effort. NDI, therefore, focused on getting the opposition to drop its boycott and participate in the system. That said, NDI's programs were always open to all those interested, whether they were pro-government, opposition, Sunni, Shia, or secular. ¶4. (C) Shaikh Khalid said the government wants NDI and BIPD to reach agreement. There is pressure on BIPD to demonstrate that it is doing something as the elections approach. He promised to respond to DNSA Abrams' letter within the next one to two weeks. MONROE