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