Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06RIYADH1
2006-01-02 05:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Riyadh
Cable title:  

PARDONED SAUDI DISSIDENT OUTLINES GRADUALIST

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM SA 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000001 

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DHAHRAN SENDS
PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM SA
SUBJECT: PARDONED SAUDI DISSIDENT OUTLINES GRADUALIST
APPROACH TO REFORM

REF: A. RIYADH 9142

B. RIYADH 5110

C. 2004 RIYADH 52 (NOTAL)

Classified by Acting Consul General Ramin Asgard for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000001

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SIPDIS

DHAHRAN SENDS
PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM SA
SUBJECT: PARDONED SAUDI DISSIDENT OUTLINES GRADUALIST
APPROACH TO REFORM

REF: A. RIYADH 9142

B. RIYADH 5110

C. 2004 RIYADH 52 (NOTAL)

Classified by Acting Consul General Ramin Asgard for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Ali Al-Dumaini, one of the three reformers pardoned
by King Abdullah in August, described himself and his
colleagues as "reformers, not revolutionaries." Although in
Al-Dumaini's view the Al Saud do not have a vision for
reform, reformers are not seeking a new form of government
but rather gradual reform under the Al Saud. He described
the newly formed municipal councils and Human Rights
Association as "pretend reforms" aimed at pleasing the U.S.
and other external constituencies, but said he was an
optimist in the long run. He and his reformist colleagues
have backed off from putting direct, public pressure on the
government, preferring to give King Abdullah breathing room
to sort out his new role and to "allow them (the Al Saud) to
convince themselves that they are leading the reform effort."
Al-Dumaini welcomed the U.S. focus on democratization in the
region as featured in Secretary Rice's speech in Cairo in
June but criticized the U.S. for not adhering fully to its
values of democracy and human rights. End summary.


2. (C) Al-Dumaini and his son Khalid met with the Acting CG
and PolOff on December 27 at the consulate. Al-Dumaini is
one of three reformers jailed in March 2004 for their
activity in the petition movement of 2003 and 2004, in which
liberal reformers called for a constitutional monarchy and
other changes (ref C). King Abdullah pardoned the reformers
in August 2005, shortly after he ascended the throne, partly
in response to U.S. pressure (ref B). Al-Dumaini, a new
contact referred to the consulate by Tayseer Al-Khunaizi, his
colleague in the reform movement and a long-standing contact,
was seeking the consulate's assistance in obtaining an
expedited visa appointment for his son, who has been accepted
to Portland State University.


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Saudi Leadership Not Committed to Reform
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3. (C) Al-Dumaini began a discussion of reform in Saudi
Arabia by saying he and his colleagues were "reformers, not
revolutionaries or radicals," content to work with the Al
Saud with the goal of achieving reforms gradually. He
expressed discouragement with the senior Al Saud princes,
saying "they do not have any vision for reform in the
country." The seemingly significant steps they have taken,
he continued, were in response to external pressure, not out
of true commitment. Al-Dumaini described two of these steps,
the formation of partially elected municipal councils and of
a National Human Rights Association, as "pretend reforms."
Municipal councils, he said, "don't do anything that a
typical mayor does: they're limited in scope to changing
street lights and collecting garbage." The SAG portrays the
National Human Rights Association as a popular institution,
Al-Dumaini noted, but "the government hand-picks all the
members." Despite his negative portrayal of current
prospects for meaningful reform, Al-Dumaini declared himself
an optimist: "Maybe the next generation of princes, the
younger ones, will have a vision for reform."

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The Waiting Game
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4. (C) Al-Dumaini acknowledged that the reformist group had
backed away from petition writing campaigns for the time
being. "We want to give King Abdullah time to sort out his
role and his relationship with his brothers," he said. He
also indicated that public pressure was often
counterproductive. "Let them think that they are the ones
calling for reform," he said. "We cannot get too far out in
front." Reform-minded activists, he continued, are keeping
in touch over the Internet, sometimes writing individual
pieces in the media, and occasionally meeting in majlises and
similar settings, but they are not making organized public
appeals at the moment. (Note: Al-Dumaini said that before
their arrest Mohammed bin Naif, Deputy Interior Minister,
approached a group of reformers to offer them a regular
channel for private dialogue with senior princes if the
reformers ceased to make their demands public. Al-Dumaini
and his colleagues were arrested before the channel
developed, and he did not indicate whether the government had
opened any similar channels at the present time. End note.)

5. (C) Al-Dumaini said that his vision for reform in Saudi
Arabia did not involve elections in the near future. "If we
have elections now, the extremists will win," he claimed.
Instead, his goal is to achieve greater freedom of expression
before moving to more representative political institutions.
"People need to be able to say what they want. They need to
be able to criticize the government without fear."

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The U.S. Role: Divided Feelings
--------------


6. (C) Asked by PolOff about the role U.S. pressure played
in his release, Al-Dumaini said he was disappointed by it.
Secretary Powell, he said, spoke out about their case several

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weeks after they were imprisoned, but then there was
"silence" from the U.S. until Secretary Rice's speech in
Cairo this June. He acknowledged that Secretary Rice's
advocacy had played a role in the SAG decision to release
them, but argued that the U.S. should have applied more
consistent pressure. "When you use the media to criticize
them (i.e., the SAG),they have to respond," Al-Dumaini noted.


7. (C) Speaking more broadly of the U.S. role in promoting
democracy and human rights, Al-Dumaini said that he
appreciated Secretary Rice's acknowledgement in Cairo that
the U.S. had focused too long on stability at the expense of
democracy. He argued that U.S. actions that he described as
inconsistent with democracy and human rights were undermining
U.S. efforts to promote democracy. Citing Guantanamo, Abu
Ghraib, and Palestine, Al-Dumaini said "you cannot have a
moral message without being consistent." "Afghanistan and
Iraq will go away," he continued, but "you have to do address
the situation in Palestine."

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Comment
--------------

8 (C) Al-Dumaini's characterization of the reform movement's
current strategy and goals and his opinion on U.S. efforts to
promote democracy in the region mirror those of other
reformers post has talked with (ref A). The letter-writing
campaigns of 2003 and early 2004 have abated, as reformists
are giving King Abdullah a chance to reveal the direction he
plans to take and backing away from direct, organized public
pressure. Al-Dumaini and his reform-minded colleagues are of
two minds about the role the U.S. is playing in promoting
democratization. On the one hand, they appreciate the U.S.
rhetorical focus on democracy and acknowledge that U.S.
pressure has caused the region's governments to make
concessions toward democratization and human rights. On the
other hand, they are wary of acute pressure, particularly
force or the threat thereof, and they believe that certain
U.S. actions and policies, which they characterize as
contradictory to the values of democracy and human rights,
are reducing the effectiveness of U.S. pressure. End comment.

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Bio Note
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9 (C) Al-Dumaini was an engineer at Aramco until 1982, when
he was arrested and imprisoned. When he was released from
jail, Aramco terminated his employment, and he went to work
in the banking sector. (He did not say why he was imprisoned
in 1982 or when he was released.) He describes himself as a
writer now and says that, thanks to his recent activism and
imprisonment, the SAG has confiscated his passport. His tone
throughout the conversation was reasoned and moderate, and he
expressed no bitterness at the government for his recent
imprisonment. End bio note.

(APPROVED: ASGARD)
OBERWETTER