SHI'A LEADER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL OPPORTUNITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 001741

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DHAHRAN SENDS
PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KIRF SA
SUBJECT: SHI'A LEADER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL OPPORTUNITIES
TO PROMOTE REFORM

REF: 2005 RIYADH 9401

Classified by Consul General John Kincannon for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Jafar Al-Shayeb, President and elected member of
Qatif's municipal council and one of five people appointed to
the Dammam branch of the National Society for Human Rights
(NSHR),shared with CG and PolOff on March 15 his philosophy
that "every positive initiative should be utilized." He
described obstacles faced by the municipal council and
expressed doubt that the NSHR could help improve human rights
at the political level, but he emphasized the value of both
institutions as avenues to educate citizens about their
rights and increase their participation in political and
social processes. He said that there was "a little progress"
on issues of concern to the Shi'a community under King
Abdullah's tenure: "There is an intention to resolve issues,
but not to do it publicly so as to avoid a backlash." End
summary.

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"Any Place There is Room, We are Trying to Utilize It"
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2. (C) Al-Shayeb began the meeting by sharing a copy of
NSHR's monthly newsletter and noting that the Dammam branch,
to which he was appointed, will open officially in several
weeks. Asked by the CG if the NSHR would have the clout to
address in a serious way important human rights violations in
the Kingdom, Al-Shayeb responded indirectly, saying that he
saw great opportunities for using the NSHR as a vehicle to
educate citizens about their rights. The Dammam branch of
the NSHR, he continued, plans to offer seminars and workshops
on human rights issues, in coordination with regional and
international bodies where possible. In terms of resolving
specific complaints, he acknowledged that the NSHR's job
would be difficult because "government agencies are not
always that responsive." Al-Shayeb doubted that the NSHR
would be able to raise political issues, such as the status
of political prisoners, effectively. The government-run
Human Rights Commission might have more clout in raising
political issues, he explained, because its head, Turki
Al-Sudeiri, is "more aggressive."


3. (C) Al-Shayeb described the value of the municipal
councils in similar terms, emphasizing the importance of the
"process of elections" regardless of what the councils may be
able to accomplish in the near-term. In the Qatif area, he
noted, council members were continuing the process of
involving citizens in municipality affairs by setting up
committees in each community to give input on priority
projects. As for the actual work done by the councils to
date, Al-Shayeb said that the Qatif council, and others he
had heard of as well, were encountering a "psychological
reluctance" from municipalities and other government offices
"to release information and have people questioning what they
are doing." He gave the specific example of contract
management, saying that government offices were resisting
providing copies of contracts and files on performance to the
municipal council. Asked by PolOff whether the council had
any input into the almost-finished "master plan" for the
greater Dammam area, including Qatif, that a consultant at
the emirate was developing (reftel),Al-Shayeb said that in
recent weeks council members had met with the consultant and
were trying to convince him to do a presentation in Qatif to
get input from local residents. Summing up his and his
colleagues' efforts on the NSHR and the Qatif municipal
council, Al-Shayeb declared, "Any place there is room, we are
trying to utilize it."

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A New SAG Openness to Change, but Quietly
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4. (C) Asked by the CG whether the first six months of King
Abdullah's reign had brought improvements for the Shi'a,
Al-Shayeb replied, "There has been a little progress and
there is an intention to resolve issues, but not in a public
way." A group of Shi'a had met with Interior Minister Naif
ten days ago, he said, and he seemed much more open to
hearing their concerns. As examples of positive recent
changes, Al-Shayeb said that the Ministry of Information had

RIYADH 00001741 002 OF 002


begun to grant permits for publication of Shi'a religious
books, and, "for the first time in history," the SAG had
appointed Shi'a to the top two management positions at the
Qatif Central Hospital and five Shi'a women as principals in
girls' schools in Qatif ("though not yet in Al-Ahsa").
Al-Shayeb said the Shi,a delegation had pushed Prince Naif
to address the problem of employment discrimination in a
broader, more public way: "Prince Naif says privately that
people should be hired based on qualifications, with no
regard to religious background or hometown, but we told him
he needs to say that publicly. We need the principle of
non-discrimination to be part of our laws or constitution."
Al-Shayeb also mentioned the SAG's unwillingness to grant
permits for new husseiniyas as an important issue for the
Shi'a, saying that the unofficial husseiniyas, located in
people's homes, posed safety risks.


5. (C) Al-Shayeb hosts a regular forum for discussion of
social, cultural, and political issues; there are reportedly
up to six to eight similar gatherings in Qatif. Al-Shayeb
noted that the issues faced by the Shi'a were starting to
attract more interest outside of the Eastern Province, thanks
in part to a small but steady flow of cultural, political,
and religious figures to these forums: "Now groups can talk
to each other, without the Wahhabi group in the center
stopping it. People from other parts of the country are
asking to come to my forum, even some from a Salafi
background." As an example, Al-Shayeb said that a
"religiously conservative but open minded" Majlis Al-Shura
member from Buraida would be addressing his forum in the
coming weeks.

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Bio Note
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6. (SBU) Al-Shayeb was born on January 10, 1959. Like many
current leaders in the Shi'a community, he went into exile
from the early 1980s until 1994, during which time he
received a master's degree in economics from Middle Tennessee
State University. He is the Shi'a community's most visible
civic figure. End bio note.

(APPROVED: KINCANNON)
OBERWETTER