Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MANAMA836
2006-05-11 11:38:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

NDI PROGRAM DIRECTOR SET TO DEPART BAHRAIN

Tags:  PREL PGOV KDEM KMPI BA BILAT REFORM POL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1124
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHMK #0836/01 1311138
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 111138Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4701
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000836 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KMPI BA BILAT REFORM POL
SUBJECT: NDI PROGRAM DIRECTOR SET TO DEPART BAHRAIN

REF: MANAMA 804

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000836

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KMPI BA BILAT REFORM POL
SUBJECT: NDI PROGRAM DIRECTOR SET TO DEPART BAHRAIN

REF: MANAMA 804

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.

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


1. (C) NDI Program Director for Bahrain Fawzi Guleid is to
depart Bahrain May 12 after negotiations on an MOU
regularizing NDI's status in Bahrain reached an impasse and
the government advised that Guleid's residency permit had
expired. Guleid hopes to continue supporting programs for
Bahrain from outside the country, including a retreat later
this month in Morocco for Bahraini political societies. BIPD
chief Lulwa Al-Awadhi reiterated again yesterday that NDI
must sign an MOU with BIPD if it is to operate legally in the
country. Meanwhile, we are still awaiting a response from
the Foreign Minister to DNSA Abrams' letter proposing a
possible compromise as a way forward. Guleid's imminent
departure has been a dominant story in the Bahrain press in
recent days, with most reaction strongly supportive of NDI
and Guleid. Nonetheless, it is clear that there are elements
in the Bahraini leadership who, for one reason or another,
have been apprehensive about Guleid's and/or NDI's activities
in Bahrain.

--------------
DEPARTURE SET FOR MAY 12
--------------


2. (C) National Democratic Institute (NDI) Program Director
Fawzi Guleid plans to depart Bahrain May 12 after attempts to
negotiate an MOU that would have allowed NDI to continue
working in Bahrain proved unsuccessful and the government
advised Guleid that his residency permit in Bahrain had
expired. While interventions by the Ambassador and Minister
of Industry and Commerce Hassan Fakhro succeeded in extending
Guleid's departure date till the end of June (to allow his
child to finish the school year),Guleid told the Ambassador
that, having already packed out and planned for the May 12
departure, his family decided to leave on that date.

--------------
GULEID'S PLANS
--------------


3. (C) In a farewell call on the Ambassador May 10, Guleid
discussed his thoughts on next steps for NDI in Bahrain. He

noted that he will return to Washington and then turn around
and travel to Morocco for a May 20-28 retreat he has
organized in Rabat under the title "Bahraini Political
Society Leadership Retreat." He said that representatives
from several Bahrain political societies intend to
participate, although one recently dropped out. For the
future, he indicated that he could continue to conduct
programs from NDI's Washington office or another nearby
country. He said that NDI could work through civil society
groups, providing funding for programs or sponsoring
speakers. Alternatively, NDI could organize programs outside
Bahrain and sponsor participants from Bahraini NGOs or
political societies. He talked of the possibility of working
directly with individual political societies.

--------------
NEXT STEPS?
--------------


4. (C) Still outstanding is the issue of NDI's future status
in Bahrain and how to move forward. There are two possible
tracks in play. One is the draft MOU, which was under
negotiation for several months between NDI and the Bahrain
Institute for Political Development (BIPD). Discussions
reached an impasse when BIPD head Lulwa Al-Awadhi pulled back
and insisted on sticking to her original text. In a statement
reported in the press May 11, Al-Awadhi reiterated that NDI
must sign a memorandum of cooperation with the BIPD if it is
to continue to operate in Bahrain. She reportedly stated
that NDI had been operating without any legal basis, and that
its activities were illegal because the new political
societies law prevented foreign organizations from providing
technical or financial support to Bahrain's political
societies. She stated: "We are currently in negotiations
with NDI, and the reason that Mr. Guleid's residency hasn't
been renewed is because they failed to respond to our latest
correspondence with them. Signing a memorandum of
cooperation with us would have allowed Mr. Guleid to stay
here and continue to work with the political societies."


5. (C) The second track is an April 1 letter from Deputy NSA
Elliott Abrams to Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid, which
outlined how BIDP's final MOU offer put unacceptable

MANAMA 00000836 002 OF 003


restrictions on NDI and proposed a compromise under which a
letter from the MFA or the BIPD describing NDI's planned
program in Bahrain could act as a legal basis for NDI's
existence in Bahrain. Shaikh Khalid, who has been traveling
extensively in recent weeks and is expected to travel to
Europe next week, has not yet answered the letter. In a
meeting with the Ambassador May 6 (reftel),Shaikh Khalid
stated that the Government of Bahrain wants NDI to work in
the country and hopes NDI and BIPD can reach an agreement on
an MOU governing NDI's activities. He reiterated previous
comments that Bahrain is unhappy with Guleid because he had
become too close to the opposition, but stressed that Bahrain
still wanted NDI here.

--------------
LOCAL REACTION
--------------


6. (U) The imminent departure of NDI's representative and
what it means for the future of NDI in Bahrain has been a
dominant local story in the press this week since the news
broke that Guleid was departing. With a couple of
predictable exceptions (the virulently anti-U.S. Islamist MP
Shaikh Mohammed Khalid said that the day Guleid left would be
a joyful one),the reaction has been supportive of Guleid and
NDI. Council of Representatives (COR) first deputy chairman
Abdulhadi Marhoon said publicly that NDI had provided members
of the COR valuable advice and had helped advance political
reform in the country. MP Jassim Abdul A'al told the press
that he did not agree that Guleid's activities had been
illegal. "It is not illegal at all," he stated. "Her
(Al-Awadhi's) information is all mixed up. The political
societies law doesn't allow foreign organizations to provide
funding, but it doesn't prevent them from providing technical
support. Mr. Guleid's leaving Bahrain is a big loss for
Bahrain and for our society."


7. (U) Al Wa'ad president Ebrahim Sharif referred to NDI's
departure as an expulsion by the GOB. He said that the BIPD
"cannot compete with NDI because it does not have open-minded
people like NDI has." Al Meethaq Society President Ahmed
Juma said he regretted that NDI's negotiations met a dead-end
and expressed hope that talks could continue until a
compromise was reached. Al Wefaq member Jalal Fairooz said
that this move by the government is not wise. "Political
societies and NGOs will lose the expertise of an
international institution, whose purpose was to equip
politicians with practical skills."


8. (U) The Bahrain Youth Forum (BYF),which held a farewell
reception for Guleid May 10, released a statement in which it
demanded that the government fill the gap in the law to allow
foreign organizations like NDI to work in the country. BYF
expressed its appreciation for the role NDI has played to
advance the level of performance of civil society groups and
political societies. It said it would like to host Guleid in
Bahrain for future events.

--------------
COLUMNISTS
--------------


9. (U) In his May 9 column, Arabic daily Al Wasat
Editor-in-Chief Mansoor Al Jamri expressed his appreciation
for the contribution Guleid has made to Bahrain and its
citizens. BIPD had spread rumors that, because NDI was
working for the U.S., it was meddling in Bahrain's internal
affairs. He stated the real reason for Guleid's departure
was that the government did not want NDI in Bahrain because
his work with the opposition would improve its effectiveness
in parliament.


10. (U) Columnist for Al Watan Arabic daily Sawsan Al Shaer
also focused on how the GOB has treated Guleid in her May 10
column. This treatment was contrary to traditional Bahraini
hospitality, resulting in private individuals apologizing to
him for the government's behavior. Normally the government
makes efforts to clarify the public's misunderstandings about
policy decisions. However, in this case, the GOB has not
done this, so its decisions seem arbitrary. "The government
looks terrified, weak and reluctant about reforms. Civil
society institutions will need to adjust themselves to this
new reality."

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) Bahraini officials have offered two basic
explanations for why the NDI issue has reached an impasse.
One is unhappiness with Guleid, who allegedly became too
closely associated with Shia opposition elements. In fact,
Guleid worked with all societies, including of course

MANAMA 00000836 003 OF 003


opposition societies like Al-Wifaq, whom he encouraged to
participate in this year's elections. The second explanation
was the legal issue and the need to have NDI's status
regularized after several years of operating under the
blessing and sponsorship of the royal court. Beyond these
concerns, there are undoubtedly deeper issues at play. The
government is nervously approaching the upcoming election and
worried about how the elections will proceed with the
now-announced participation of major Shia opposition society
Al-Wifaq. And Iran under President Ahmadi-Nejad, with its
feared ability to cause mischief with Bahrain's Shia
community, is making the leadership increasingly nervous.
Recent attacks on the U.S. and the U.S. Embassy for its
alleged contacts with Bahrain societies in the Arabic daily
Al-Watan, known to have ties to the palace, is an indication
of the skittishness of some in the leadership. When the
Ambassador suggested to a Shura Council member (and supporter
of NDI) that NDI simply wanted to be able to operate in
Bahrain as it did in many other countries in the Arab world,
he responded that Bahrain was different because of its
Shia/Sunni issue and closeness to Iran.


12. C) All this is not to say that there isn't hope for a
positive resolution of this issue. NDI has many friends
here, as the public reaction has so well highlighted. The
departure of Fawzi Guleid will remove him as an alleged
factor, and allow us to test whether the government will now
be willing to show the needed flexibility.
MONROE