DISCUSSION GROUPS GROW, CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 005315 SIPDIS SIPDIS DHAHRAN SENDS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM KIRF SA SUBJECT: DISCUSSION GROUPS GROW, CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPS REF: RIYADH 3301 Classified By: Consul General John Kincannon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). ¶1. (C) Summary: Shi'a journalist Merza Al Khuwaildi discussed the range of new discussion groups in Saudi Arabia, in a June 28 meeting with the Consul General. Considered the vanguard of civil society in Saudi Arabia, these home-based, informal, grass-roots groups have enjoyed more freedom over the past few years. Many new groups have developed, and with the assistance of the Internet there is greater communication between different groups across the country. End summary. ¶2. (C) Merza Al Khuwaildi is an editor at Al-Sharq al-Awsat Newspaper, and is active in Qateef municipal council member Jafar Al-Shayeb's weekly discussion forum. In May, Al-Shayeb invited several discussion groups in the Eastern Province for a general meeting. Organizers of 11 groups came to the meeting; out of the 15 invited groups, three were run by women and two were targeted at youth. (Comment. These informal "salons" are very much a Shi'a phenomenon in Saudi Arabia. We are aware of fifteen different Shi'a discussion groups in the EP and only two run by Sunnis. Al-Khuwalidi described two or three other Sunni groups in Riyadh and Jeddah. End comment.) ¶3. (C) Al Khuwaildi said that many new groups have started over the past couple of years, with much greater freedom than before. "Before," he said, "the Saudi government tried to divide us, and people worked in isolation. Now with the Internet, that's impossible." Jafer Al-Shayeb's weekly group has invited leaders of groups in other parts of the country to speak to his group; Dr. Sami Angawi, who hosts the Meccawi forum in his home in Jeddah, spoke to Al Shayeb's group in Qatif. A few speakers are popular throughout the country, going on a kind of 'speaking tour' at different groups, including Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Bleihi, Mansour Al-Noqueidan, and Qinan Al-Ghamdi. -------------- REQUESTS, NOT ARRESTS -------------- ¶4. (C) Al-Khuwaildi said the government pressure on these groups is much more gentle than it was a few years ago. "Now they politely ask you to the Governor's office, and request that you stop the forum. Before they used to arrest you." Nor is the request particularly forceful; Al-Khuwaildi said that Al-Shayeb has regularly been called in to meet with the Governor, yet he continues to hold the weekly forum. After Dr. Sami Angawi's talk, complete with a power point display, about how the religious authorities had allegedly and deliberately destroyed Muslim artifacts in Mecca in the name of Islam, al-Shayeb was called in. "People report on what happens during the forum, and then the Governor's office calls," Al-Khuwaildi said. "People running the groups need to make steps forward," he said "and then they have to face the consequences." ¶5. (C) Technology has also given rise to on-line discussion groups. Even when these groups, such as the Shi'a community site www.Rasid.com, are shut down by the government, the organizers can find a way to start the site again. "Rasid has been shut down 60 times," Al-Khuwaildi said, "and each time the organizers just e-mail a list-serve with a link to the new website." ¶6. (C) Comment: Al-Khuwaildi is clearly plugged in to the community of cultural and political groups in Saudi Arabia. A long-time activist, Al-Khuwaildi was part of the Shi'a exile community until the deal was struck to allow the group back into the country in the 1993-4. His activity in these groups is part of his effort to promote greater freedom and democracy in Saudi Arabia. These discussion groups are the beginnings of a truly independent civil society in Saudi Arabia (reftel); if the SAG is serious about efforts to reform, these groups will be allowed to flourish. Conversely, a crackdown on these groups would not bode well for the prospects for reform. End comment. (APPROVED: KINCANNON) OBERWETTER